How To Date An Athlete
by cupcakeaddict100
Summary: Dating? Complicated. Dating an athlete? Even more complicated. Gabriella and Troy try to keep a normal relationship all while dealing with typical problems that come with being in a relationship with someone in the spotlight: lies, cheating, scandals and drama.
1. The Meeting

"Mel, what do mean you're breaking up with me?" Troy Bolton, asked, trying to keep his voice calm through the phone.

"I mean exactly that. I'm breaking up with you."

"But, why? You and I went on a date yesterday. You spent the night at my apartment. I made you breakfast this morning!"

Mel sighed, "Yeah, I don't know why I let get this far, and let it drag on this long."

"I'm so lost right now. Why are you breaking up with me?" Troy pushed his front door open to his penthouse apartment and closed it behind him. He threw his keys down onto his kitchen counter. He had a long day of practice and all he wanted to do was come home and go to sleep. Getting dumped via phone call was not a part of his plan.

"I'm just...not feeling this relationship right now. It isn't what it used to be."

Troy flopped down onto his couch. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not happy in this relationship any more. It's not you, it's me." Troy scoffed and pinched the bridge of his nose to stop the headache that was starting to form.

"Really?"

"Yes, look, I'll give you your key back and come my things from your apartment tomorrow, or the day after."

"Mel-" Troy was cut off by a click. She hung up on him. "Fuck."

There were three knocks at his door. Troy already knew who it was. "Come in."

Troy's best friends, Chad and Zeke, walked in. "Hey, Troy."

"Hi."

Chad picked up on Troy's sad demeanor. "What's wrong with you?"

"I just got dumped five seconds ago." Troy answered, tossing his phone into the air and catching it.

"By Melanie?"

"No, by my other girlfriend. Yes, by Melanie."

"Don't get snappy with me."

"I'm sorry. I just got dumped. Over the phone."

Chad rolled his eyes. "Why are you acting like this is such a loss? I'm going to say this in the kindest way possible, but Melanie Parks is a nothing more than a bitch. A gold digging, bitch."

Zeke slapped Chad's chest, "Dude! That's not nice."

"It's the truth! Melanie only dated Troy to be a basketball player's girlfriend. He's young, he's rich, he's successful. She got VIP treatment where ever she went, he took her on expensive dates, he got her expensive gifts. She didn't have a job!"

"She has a job."

"She is a professional free-loader."

"She's a model/actress."

Chad scoffed, "This is Los Angeles. Everyone is a "model", or an "actress"."

Troy grabbed a pillow and put it over his face. He groaned.

Zeke removed the pillow from Troy's face. "Come on now, let's not get depressed."

"Especially over someone like Melanie." Chad added.

"Chad, you aren't helping!"

"What do you want me to say? You guys know I don't like Melanie."

"Yeah, but you don't need to bad mouth her."

Troy got off of his couch, "Do whatever you want. I'm going to bed."

Chad grabbed Troy before he got too far away. "Whoa there, buddy. You can't go to bed."

"Why not?"

"We need to go out, and find you a super hot girl to hook with. We gotta get Melanie out of your system."

"I don't want to go out. I want to go to sleep."

"Yeah, and I didn't want to eat vegetables when I was a child, but did that stop my mom from feeding them to me? No."

"Chad did that have a point?"

"We can't all get what we want out of life, Bolton. So, go take a shower, and get dressed. We're going to a club."

"A club?"

"Yeah."

"Do I even have a choice in the matter?"

"No, not really. Go get ready."

Troy sighed in defeat. He knew he wasn't going to be able to win this argument. "Whatever you say."

* * *

Gabriella Montez was absolutely exhausted when she reached her bedroom. She had been up, running around Los Angeles all day for work, and she had just came back from the gym. Now she was laying face down in the middle of her bed.

Her phone rang, and she tried to extend her arm to get to her nightstand. It didn't work. She had to get up and move to reach her phone.

"Hello?" Gabriella greeted, not bothering to look at the caller I.D. before answering.

"Hey, it's me!" Gabriella's best friend, Taylor said.

"Hi Taylor."

"Why is your voice so muffled?" Taylor asked. "What are you doing?"

"I'm laying face down on my bed right now, and I have no intentions of moving."

"Why?"

"Because I'm tired."

"Why are you tired?"

"I just got home from the gym." Gabriella replied. "And I had a long day at work."

"Hey, you want to go out tonight?"

"No."

"Why, do you have plans?" Taylor asked.

"Yes, I plan on taking a shower, making a box of macaroni, and then passing out until tomorrow morning."

"That does not sound fun."

"Yes it does."

"You can do that tomorrow. It's Friday night! And I have pretty good news."

Gabriella managed to roll over onto her back. "What's your good news, Tay?"

"Guess who got a job as Laura Wasser's assistant?"

Gabriella gasped, "Get out!" Laura Wasser was one kick-ass divorce attorney and Taylor idolized her.

"I'm super serious right now."

"Congrats Tay. I'm so happy for you."

"So go out with Sharpay and I."

"I don't want to go out."

"Yes, you do. You just don't know it yet."

"Trust me when I say I do."

Taylor huffed, "Sharpay and I will be at your place in 15 minutes."

"No, I'm-"

"See you soon. Bye!" Taylor hung up before Gabriella could finish her sentence.

Gabriella sighed, "Well, I guess I'm going out tonight."

* * *

"I'm so glad we did not have to wait in that long line to get in." Taylor said, holding hands with Sharpay and Gabriella, so they didn't get separated.

The trio was in the Avalon Club in Hollywood. Somehow the girls were able to force Gabriella out of her apartment. They really turned up the manipulation and begging.

"It's all thanks to Gabriella. All she had to do was smile and wink at the bouncer, and we were in."

Gabriella let go of her friends' hands and fixed her dress, which was riding her up thighs. "It's because you guys shoved me into this tight dress and my push-up bra."

"Well, it worked so the bra is good for something. Be glad your sister bought it for you."

"I'll call and thank her later."

"You guys want drinks?" Taylor asked.

Gabriella shook her head, "You aren't paying. We're out tonight to celebrate you. I'll pay."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Now what do you guys want?"

"Apple martini."

"Dirty martini."

"Great. I'll be right back." Gabriella walked away from her friends and towards the bar.

On the other side of the club, Chad and Zeke were eyeing the women that walked around them.

Chad subtly nodded to a girl who walked by. "Her?"

"She's ways too drunk." Troy said.

He tried a different girl. "That one?"

"I just saw her grinding on two different guys. It was like one big human grinding sandwich. No way in hell."

"Fine. The girl talking to the DJ. What about her?"

"No."

Chad groaned in frustration. "We're looking for a rebound girl, not a wife. Why are you being so damn picky?"

"I apologize for having standards."

"Standards and morals do not apply when it comes to the rebound girl. You pick a girl, you get drunk enough to consider going to her place, you sleep with her, and you leave before she wakes up. That's all."

Zeke slapped Troy's arm, and pointed. "There's a woman walking over to the bar. She's tall, she's wearing a white dress, and blue high heels."

Troy followed Zeke's finger and saw who he was talking about. The woman walked with fierce confidence. Her back straight, her head held high. Troy liked that.

"Alright. I'll go see."

Chad gave Troy a pat on the back, "Go get her, tiger."

Troy got out of his chair and walked over to the bar. He sat close enough to where he could see the woman, but not close enough to where he was practically breathing down her neck.

He grabbed his wallet and pulled out his credit card. He motioned for the bartender to come over to him. "Whatever she is buying," He pointed to who he was talking about, "I'll pay for it."

The bartender took the card out of Troy's hand and checked the name, "Sir thing, Mr. Bolton."

"Thank you."

Gabriella impatiently tapped the heel of her shoe against the bar stool she was sitting on and sighed. The bartender was in the middle of making her drinks, when he just stopped. Someone had to notice that the bartender was busy, but did that stop them? No. Rude person.

Finally, the bartender put the drinks on the counter top. "We have an apple martini, a dirty martini, and a blue cosmo."

Gabriella held up her clutch purse, "How much?"

"It's covered."

"What do you mean it's covered? Are drinks free tonight?"

The bartender pointed to Troy, who was sitting a few stools away from her. "He paid for your drinks. Somebody is a very lucky lady." He walked away from Gabriella, and over to someone else.

Gabriella turned her head to the side and saw Troy walking towards her. "Hi."

"I can buy my own drinks." Gabriella said.

"I just wanted to be nice."

"Well thank you." Gabriella slid off of the stool and grabbed all of her glasses. Troy gently grabbed her upper arm. "Yes?"

"Can I get your name, angel face?"

"Gabriella." Gabriella replied.

"Hi Gabriella, I'm Troy."

"Hello Troy. Thanks for the drinks, but I have to get these drinks back to my friends."

"Why don't you get your friends and come hang out with me and my friends?" Troy suggested.

Gabriella shook her head, "Sorry, we're having a girl's night out. No guys allowed. Maybe next time."

Troy gave her a pout, "Oh alright. Have a good night, Gabriella."

"Thank you. You too Troy."

Gabriella walked back over to Sharpay and Taylor, who were sitting at a table. Sharpay grabbed her drink.

"Finally! What took you so long?"

"I just met Troy Bolton." Gabriella said, taking a sip of her drink.

Sharpay's eyes widened. She didn't know how Gabriella could drop a bombshell like that and remain so nonchalant. "Troy Bolton. Like the basketball player, Troy Bolton?"

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah, he actually bought the drinks for me, and asked if I wanted to sit with him and his friends."

"So, we're about to go over and sit with him, right?"

"No."

"No?" Taylor's jaw dropped. "What do you mean?"

"You guys dragged me out of my warm, comfy apartment for a girl's night. Emphasis on the word _girl_."

Taylor scoffed, "And we also have you wear that bra to get us free drinks and VIP treatment. It was totally working in our favor, and you had to ruin it."

"Yeah, if a young, hot, tall, successful, hot, athlete wants us to sit with him, who are you to decline?" Sharpay asked. "How dare you?"

"You said hot, twice, Shar."

"Because he's that hot. And really tall. And God, I so hate you right now, Gabriella."

"If you want to go over there so badly, go over there."

"I can't. You don't just go to the VIP section, and demand to hang out with athletes. It doesn't happen like that, Gabriella. We had an in, and you decided not to use it! Have I told you that I hated you right now?"

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, you told me."

"Because it's true! I hate you that much right

* * *

"She turned you down?" Chad asked, incredulously. "She turned you down?"

Troy nodded, taking a swig of his beer. "Yup."

"After you bought her drinks?" Troy nodded again. "How rude of her."

"It's alright."

"Well was she attractive?"

"She is extremely attractive. Tall, extremely defined cheekbones, big eyes."

"Somebody's smitten." Zeke teased in a sing-song voice.

"No, I'm not smitten."

"Sure, you aren't."

"I'm not! But she seems like she's extremely...independent, and headstrong. I like that."

Zeke turned to Chad, "He's in love. Or lust."

Troy was about to reply when he Gabriella out of the corner of his eye. She was walking back to the bar with two other guys. "Hey Gabriella!"

Gabriella turned around, trying to figure out who was calling her name. She spotted Troy. "Yeah?"

"Where you going?"

"To the bar. You wanna buy me more drinks?" Gabriella asked, smirking teasingly.

Chad stood up, "Are you sure you don't want to hang out with us? There's a lot of space, and all this alcohol."

"No we're-" Before Gabriella could even finish her sentence, Taylor's hand clamped down over her mouth.

"Don't listen to her. She hit her head a few days ago and has been a little lost ever since. Of course we want to." Gabriella bit Taylor's finger. Taylor pinched Gabriella's arm, and they let each other go.

Chad motioned to the bouncer, "Let 'em in." The bouncer removed the rope. "Come on girls."

Sharpay squealed and excitedly walked over to Chad. Taylor and then Gabriella followed suit.

* * *

Gabriella looked at the time on her cell phone. 3:49 in the morning. She groaned. She had not intended on staying out this late, especially against her will.

Sharpay and Taylor had gotten completely trashed, so Gabriella was the designated driver, unfortunately. They were shamelessly flirting with Chad and Zeke, which left Gabriella and Troy.

Gabriella didn't really mind Troy. He was extremely nice, and funny. She just wasn't interested in throwing herself at a professional athlete like 99% of the women in the club.

"Gabriella, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You seem a little...irritated."

"Sorry. I'm just tired, it's late, and I didn't want to go out tonight." Gabriella said, running her hand through her hair.

"Really? Me either! My friends dragged me out of my apartment."

"Mine too." Gabriella laughed. "We're like lost souls."

"So what do you do for a living?" Troy asked Gabriella, snapping her out of her trance.

"I'm an event planner." Gabriella answered.

"Really?"

"Yeah, so if you ever want to throw a party, contact me."

"I will."

"So what do you do for a living?"

Troy almost asked Gabriella if she was serious when he saw the teasing look in her eyes. "I'm a circus clown."

"I happen to love clowns. They're so cute."

"Aw thanks."

"Gabriella!" Sharpay exclaimed, stumbling over to her fried. She wrapped her arms around her and kissed her cheek. She then turned to Troy. "This girl is one of my best friends and I love her like infinity times."

Troy chuckled, "Is that so?"

"Yeah."

Gabriella turned her head away from Sharpay's. "Ugh, you reek of vodka. It's time to get going."

"I don't want to go. Zeke and I were talking."

"Get his phone number, Sharpay."

Sharpay lifted up her shirt and pointed to her stomach. There was a phone number written on it. "I got it."

"Alright. Now go talk to Taylor."

"Yeah, Taylor's fun to talk to." Sharpay walked away from Gabriella and Troy and over to where Taylor was sitting.

Gabriella stood up, "Well this has been fun, but it's time to go home."

"Can I ever see you again?"

"No."

"No?"

"Look, last time I heard, you had a girlfriend. She was in a really crappy Lifetime movie. And I am not going to be a home wrecker, or a groupie who follows you around like a lost puppy."

"Well my girlfriend dumped me."

"I don't want to be the rebound girl."

Troy frowned. This girl was stubborn. "I think you're interesting. And funny, and witty. I would just like to talk to you more."

"You aren't getting my phone number either."

"You're killing me, angel face."

Gabriella opened her clutch and pulled out a business card. She handed it to Troy. "You can e-mail me."

Troy looked down at the card, "This is your business e-mail."

"Yeah." She leaned over to Troy. "You want my number, you gotta earn it. And if you're lucky, I'll follow you on Twitter."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed."

"Bye." Gabriella grabbed her friends and waved to Chad and Zeke. "Bye boys."

Zeke waved, "Bye."

Troy watched as Gabriella walked away. Chad walked over to him. "She sure is something, huh?"

"Oh yeah."

"I like her. She's a firecracker, that one."

Troy slipped her card into his pocket. "I like her, too. I like her a lot."

"What about Melanie."

Troy turned to Chad and smirked, "Melanie, who?"

Chad grinned, "Atta boy."


	2. Exchanging Numbers

"She is now following me on Twitter." Troy announced, tossing his shirt into his gym bag.

"Who's following you?"

"Gabriella." Troy replied, as if it was obvious.

"Ooh, who is Gabriella?" Troy's teammate, Steve asked.

Before Troy could reply, Chad was standing on the bench. "She's a girl that Troy met last week, and fell in love with."

Troy pulled Chad's ankle, forcing Chad to get off the bench. He punched Chad's shoulder. "I'm not in love with anyone."

"Don't you have a girlfriend? Melanie something?"

"Oh yeah! She was in that one Lifetime movie that Vanessa and I watched." Troy's other teammate, Kobe said, now remembering Troy's ex.

"She broke up with me." Troy replied.

"Yeah so she could screw other guys without feeling bad for it." Chad added.

"Chad." Troy warned.

"Sorry, sorry. There is just something about that girl that just brings out the not so nice side of me."

Steve sat down on the bench, "When did you meet Gabriella?"

Troy scrolled through Gabriella's pictures on Twitter, "Few days ago. We were at a club and I bought her drinks."

"Ah, the old Buy Her a Drink trick. Did it work?"

"Nope. Finally I was able to talk to her, and she gave me her business card."

"Have you talked to her?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Troy was about to answer, when he realized he didn't really have one. Why didn't he just call her? That seems simple enough to do.

"Honestly, I don't know, Nash."

"You should call her, then. Don't you think that would be a smart thing to do?"

"I'll call her."

Chad laughed, "Hey what if she doesn't even remember you?"

"She remembers me." Troy argued. "How many professional basketball players named Troy Bolton do you think she meets a day?"

"I'm just saying."

"Well don't say anything. I don't need your negativity raining on my parade."

"Gosh, don't be so defensive."

"Don't be so negative."

"Troy, don't listen to Chad. I'm sure this Gabriella girl remembers you, and wants to talk to you."

"Chad, why can't you be supportive?"

Chad shrugged, "I don't know. I'm just honest."

* * *

"We need to get a confirmation from the florist." Gabriella said to her new assistant, Aly. "Ellen said she wanted a bouquet of a 5 white lilies and 5 pink roses on each table. We also need to find crystal vases to put the flowers in because she wants absolute class." She looked towards the younger girl. "Why aren't you writing this down? Start writing!"

Aly had a startled look on her face, "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Gabriella reached onto her desk and grabbed a small notepad and pen. She tossed them to Aly. "You gotta keep up. Things move fast. The people that come to me expect perfection, and I can't give that to them if people aren't listening and are making mistakes. Got it?"

"Got it."

Gabriella smiled, "Good."

"Ms. Montez, why are people so high-maintenance? Crystal vases, $500 napkins, champagne. This is a bit much."

"This is Los Angeles, hon. People want things, and if they have enough money, they'll get it. And Ellen has a lot of money, so we are going to get her $5000 diamond stuffed lobster dipped in butter if she wants it."

"Okay."

Gabriella sat down at her desk and look at the small calendar next to her computer. "And before I forget, did you book my flight to San Fransisco?"

"Yes, I did. You are leaving Sunday at 4:30 in the afternoon."

"Great. You can go now."

Aly quickly scurried out of the office, shutting the door behind her.

Gabriella sat down at her desk, and checked her e-mail. A few of them were from people wanting her to throw together last minute Christmas or New Year's Eve parties. People should know by now if they wanted her to plan them a party, it had to be a month or so, maybe more, in advance.

There was a knock on her door and Gabriella didn't look up from her computer. "I'm busy!" The person knocked again. "Unless you're dying, or the building is on fire, don't bother me!"

The door opened and Troy walked in, "Hi."

Gabriella looked up, "Troy Bolton. To what do I owe this great pleasure?"

Troy sat down across from Gabriella and smiled. "I just wanted to see you. I felt like our last encounter didn't end well."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I want to talk to you more, angel face."

"Well, I'm working right now."

"I can see that."

"So unless you want me to plan a party for you, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Troy ignored Gabriella and looked around her office. There were a ton of pictures hanging around the office and on her desk. One of her standing on the Golden Gate Bridge, one of her in a Giants jersey, and another one of her in a red and gold shirt standing next to the San Fransisco 49er's QB, Colin Kaepernick.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're from San Fransisco and you're a 49ers fan."

"Yup. I lived out there until I was 18. And what? You're not a 49er fan?"

"I have nothing against them. I'm more of a Houston Texans fan, myself. We all have to rep where we're from."

"I'm a fan of that oh-so-original name." Gabriella said, sarcastically.

"I know, right. How clever. But I'm going to be heading out to the Bay Area, soon. I have a game tomorrow."

"Good luck."

"Thank you."

"But seriously, Troy, I'm working right now."

"So work. I just wanna talk."

"I gave you my e-mail address."

"Yeah, for work."

Gabriella pointed to her computer, "I'm checking my e-mail right now. You would have gotten acknowledged."

"I don't do e-mail. I'm pretty sure I don't even know my e-mail. Or my password."

"That's too bad, Bolton."

"Bolton, eh?" Troy smirked. "We have nicknames for each other? I feel like this is moving so fast."

Gabriella shrugged, "You call me angel face, I call you Bolton."

Troy held out his hand for Gabriella to shake. She shook it. "We have a deal."

"So, are you going to leave?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"If you give me your phone number or not."

"Okay, so I give you my number, you'll leave, and if I don't? What will happen?"

"I'll stay here and beg for it."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. She had to give Troy credit. He was really trying.

"Give me your phone." Gabriella ordered. Troy did as he was told. "Now I'm only doing this because I want to do my work in peace."

Troy watched as Gabriella put her number in his phone. He grabbed a post-it and a pen and scribbled his phone number onto the paper. "Sure you are."

Gabriella gave Troy his phone back, "Here you go, Bolton."

"Thanks. I don't have to call to make sure it isn't fake, do I?"

"It's my real cell phone number. I swear."

"Thanks. Now I won't have to come here every day to talk to you."

"You were going to come here every day?"

Troy stood up, "Until you gave me your phone number, yeah."

"Now I'm starting to regret giving you my number. You sound like a stalker."

"I'm not a stalker. But when I see something I want, I go out of my way to make sure I get it."

"You're cocky."

"Confident is a much nicer word to use, but I'll gladly accept cocky."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Goodbye Troy."

"Bye angel face." Troy walked out of Gabriella's office, leaving her in her silent office.

After Troy was gone, Gabriella sat in her chair, doing absolutely nothing. She realized it was kind of nice talking to Troy, but she wouldn't tell that to him. She wouldn't stroke his ego.

* * *

"Why are we packing?" Taylor asked, helping Gabriella get her suitcase from the top shelf of her closet.

"I'm going to San Fransisco for the holidays, remember?"

"Oh yeah."

"I might as well pack my bag right now since I have nothing to do, and I don't want to do it Saturday night."

"Good for you."

"Are you still going to New York for Christmas?"

Taylor nodded, "Yup. As if I have a choice in the matter. My mother would kill me if I didn't."

"How is Momma McKessie?"

"Good. She says she wants you to come visit more."

"Tell her that I will make it a goal to come to New York to see her."

Taylor held out her pinky, "Pinky promise?"

"Of course, Tay." Gabriella linked pinkies with Taylor. "Pinky promises are legit."

Taylor smiled, "Great. So how was work today?"

"Work was...interesting."

"What was so interesting about it?"

"Troy Bolton came to visit me."

"Really? For what?"

"He just wanted to talk to me, so we did."

Taylor put her hands under her chin and leaned forward. "And what else happened?"

"Nothing. We just talked." Gabriella turned her head and whispered, "And I might have given him my number."

Taylor gasped, "You did? Gabriella!"

"He wouldn't stop bugging me and he said he would leave, if I gave him my number, so that's exactly what I did."

"I call bull, Montez. You wanted to give him your number, and you know it."

"I'll admit that I like talking to him. He's funny, and he's nice-"

"I feel like there's a 'but' coming."

"But he's a professional athlete, Tay."

"So?"

"How many successful relationships do athletes have? They are always gone on the road. Women practically throw their panties at them. They cheat. I have zero interest in being a basketball player's girlfriend."

"Not everybody is a cheater." Taylor said.

Gabriella pulled a few jackets out of her closet and tossed them onto her bed. "Yeah, but a lot of them cheat."

"Wanna know what sucks? When a stereotype ruins the chances of a good guy and I think Troy is a good guy. I haven't heard a bad thing about him since he's played for the Lakers. He donated $150,000 to the Make A Wish Foundation last month. He donates books and toys to children's hospitals around the country."

"Where did you see that?"

Taylor shrugged, "In a magazine somewhere. Probably saw it while I was at the dentist's office. Anyway, all I'm saying is don't count him out because of what you think might happen."

"But what if-"

"Shh! Stop thinking so much about this. You just met Troy a few days ago. He wants to talk to you, he isn't proposing. Now one day, if you guys get serious, you have this talk with him. But you should at least give him a chance."

"Really?"

"Do you like him?"

"Yes."

"Then go for it."

"I think you should have stayed on the psychology route, and became a therapist. What would I do without you?"

"You'd die."

"Damn, Tay. Don't give yourself_ that _much credit."

* * *

Gabriella sat in her bedroom, staring at her phone. Should she be the first one to call Troy? What if that was too pushy? Too forward? What if gave her a fake number?

She shook her head at the last thought. Troy approached her and said he wanted her number, so why on earth would he give her a fake number, as if she was a stalker?

Gabriella reached for her phone and dialed the number Troy gave her. She waited as it rang.

"Hello?"

"Troy?"

"Yes."

"Hi, it's Gabriella." Gabriella greeted.

"Hey! I knew you couldn't resist me, angel face."

Gabriella could practically feel Troy smirking through the phone. Being ridiculously smug. She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

* * *

Hello all of you fantastic readers out there! How are you? Happy Friday aka End Of The World Day! I just want to thank you guys for all of your lovely reviews, favorites, and follows. You're amazing. Enjoy your weekend! xD


	3. Getting To Know You

If a man lets you drive _his_ car, you're special.

* * *

"Favorite color?"

"It's probably teal." Gabriella answered, opening her front door.

"Teal? Isn't that like blue?"

"Yeah, it's like blue. What's yours?"

"Red. Favorite movie?"

"It's a tie between Grease, Gone With The Wind and The Godfather."

Troy laughed, "A musical about teens in the 50s, a mob movie, and the tale of a southern belle. Those are three completely opposite movies, angel face."

"I know."

"I'll give you The Godfather because Scarface is definitely in my top 3."

"Favorite TV show?"

"Law and Order. Or Criminal Minds."

"I love Law and Order! I can watch SVU all day long, despite the fact that I've seen every episode at least 3 times."

"We're having a marathon one day."

"Of course." Gabriella sat down on her couch. "Siblings?"

"Two. Old brother, younger sister. You?"

"I have three. One older brother, one old sister, and a twin. They all live in San Francisco"

"Don't tell random people where I live." A voice called out.

Gabriella turned around and grabbed a candle holder, which was sitting on her table, prepared to strike the intruder. She put it down once she noticed it was just a sister. "Lola! Jesus Christ."

"No, my name is Troy."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "I just saw my sister hiding in the shadows of my apartment. She scared the crap out of me."

"Oh."

"I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye." Gabriella hung up and turned to her sister. "Why are you here?"

"When your sister comes from San Francisco to Los Angeles to visit you, you give her a warm greeting."

Gabriella stood up and walked over to her sister, "Hi Lola. How are you?"

"I'm good, thank you for asking."

"How did you get in here?"

"I made a key."

"Lola, you can't make keys to other people's homes."

"You're my sister, so yes I can."

"Where's your husband?" Gabriella asked.

"Andrew is at home. I came out here all by myself, like a grown up. Who were you talking to on the phone?"

"Troy." Gabriella answered.

"Troy. You guys are still talking?"

"Yeah."

"Have you even been out on a date with him?"

Gabriella walked back over to her couch and sat down. "We got coffee a few times."

"Coffee? That's not a real date."

"Well we haven't had time. It's kind of hard to date someone when he's in a different state. I've been busy with work and so has he. He has to travel and I'm not going to follow him around the country."

"So you guys are going to talk to each other over the phone every day for the rest of your lives?"

"No. He gets back in Los Angeles tomorrow. Plus basketball season will be over in a few months, so we'll have more time to spend with each other, if we decide that we want to spend more time together."

"How long have you guys been doing this?"

"Almost a month."

Lola walked into Gabriella's kitchen and opened up the refrigerator, scanning the shelves for something she wanted. "You must really like him to do this."

"I do."

"Gabi has a boyfriend." Lola sing songed. "Gabi has a boyfriend."

"I don't have a boyfriend." Gabriella insisted.

"Yes you do."

"I don't."

"You do." Lola argued, quickly shutting the refrigerator door and leaving the kitchen before Gabriella could respond.

* * *

"Lola, you want to go out to eat later on?" Gabriella asked, walking into her guest room. It was empty. She walked out into the hallway. "Lola, are you here?"

"I'm in the kitchen!" Lola called out.

Gabriella walked into the kitchen and saw her sister standing over a plate of food. "Aw."

"What?"

"I was going to ask you if you wanted to go out to breakfast with me."

"Sorry. We can do lunch."

Gabriella frowned, "I can't go out to lunch. I'm meeting with a client."

"Dinner?"

"Yeah, dinner is good."

Gabriella's phone beeped and she dug into her pocket to get it.

"Who is it?" Lola asked.

"Troy."

"Your boyfriend?"

"Not my boyfriend." Gabriella answered and held the phone up to her ear. "Hey."

"Hi. What are you doing right now?"

"I'm not doing anything. I'm at home."

"Me too."

"Yay, you're back in Los Angeles."

"I'm about to take a shower and sleep for about 6 hours, but I wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner with me later on."

"Dinner?"

"Yeah. Is that okay with you?"

"Hang on just a second." Gabriella took the phone away from her. "Would you be sad if we couldn't go out later tonight?"

"Why not?"

"Troy wants to go out with me."

"Yeah, go out with him. I'll survive."

"But you're my guest."

"That showed up unexpectedly and disrupted your life. Go out, have fun."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll go get a pizza and watch Lifetime movies."

"Okay." Gabriella put the phone back up to her ear. "Troy? You still there?"

"Yup, I'm still here."

"Dinner is fine with me. Where do you want to go?"

"I'll let you choose."

"Well, I can't think of anything off the top of my head. I'll get back to you later with an answer."

"Okay, what time then?"

"7 'o clock."

"Want me to pick you up or should we meet up at the restaurant?"

"Um, you could pick me up. I'll text you my address."

"Great. So I'll see you later."

"See you when you get here." Gabriella hung up her phone, and put it back in her pocket. "I have a date."

Lola nodded, "Yes you do."

"Oh my goodness. I have a date. With Troy. Tonight. In 10 hours!"

"Relax, it's going to be perfect."

* * *

Lola sat on Gabriella's bed, and watched her sister pace back and forth in her walk-in closet. "Gabriella?"

"Yes?"

"You're going to ruin your carpet." Lola pointed out. "And possibly your slippers."

"I have more."

"Are you nervous?" Lola questioned.

Gabriella nodded, "Yes, I'm really nervous."

"Calm down."

"I can't."

Lola got off of Gabriella's bed and walked over to her. She reached out and grabbed Gabriella's shoulders, stopping her from moving. "Your pacing is giving me a headache."

"I apologize for being such an inconvenience for you, Lola. It is my goal in life to make you feel comfortable."

"Oh! You're just a little smarty pants, aren't ya?"

Gabriella looked down at her feet, "Sorry."

"Now, I'm pretty sure Troy likes you just a tiny bit more than you like him, which is always great. What do you have to be nervous for?"

"I don't know, but I am. I like him, and what if I find out that we just don't really mesh well? That'll suck."

"That isn't going to go happen."

"It might."

"It won't."

"How are you so sure?"

"I'm not, but you know me. I'm 100% optimistic."

"Yeah, I do know." Gabriella smiled. "Thank you. I'm kind of a mess right now."

"No problem. Now let's find you something that will knock Troy's socks off."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

"What time is it?" Gabriella asked, trying to find her cell phone to check the time.

"6:55." Lola answered. She held out Gabriell's phone and a gold watch for her to take. "Put this on."

Gabriella grabbed both things, "Thank you." She quickly fastened the watch around her left wrist.

"You're welcome."

"I don't even know why I'm so nervous all of a sudden." Gabriella said walking into her closet. She pulled out a pair of hot pink heels and quickly slipped them onto her feet. "The day we met, Troy openly flirted with me, I did nothing. He asked for my number, I was as cool as a cucumber. We're going on a date, and I am a wreck."

"It's okay. Remember how freaked I was when Andrew first asked me out?"

"Yes, I remember."

They heard the doorbell ringing. Lola walked out of the bedroom and down the hall to the front door. She opened it and saw Troy Bolton standing there.

Lola smiled, "Hi there, handsome."

"Hi." Troy greeted, back. "Is Gabriella here?"

Lola pulled Troy into the apartment, "Nope, but I am."

Troy stared at the women with wide eyes. She was a bold one.

Lola shook her head and laughed loudly, "Oh I'm just teasing you. I don't bite, I swear." She held out her hand for Troy to shake. "I'm Lola Montez-Davis, Gabriella's older sister."

Troy shook her hand, "I'm Troy Bolton, Gabriella's date."

"Oh look at us, it's like we're connected."

"I guess we are."

"You're really handsome, and tall, and you have a cute accent. You know, if and my sister weren't dating, I'd have an affair with you."

"Thank you?"

"Lola, why are you bugging him?" Gabriella asked, walking into her living room.

"Oh, we're just having some friendly conversation. Right Troy?"

"Right."

"Well conversation over." Gabriella grabbed her keys off of the coffee table and put them in her purse. She then turned to Troy. "Hi."

"Hey. You ready to go?"

"Yeah."

"Have fun you two."

"All right."

"Be home by midnight, young lady." Lola warned, teasing her younger sister.

"Nope, Troy and I are gonna get drunk and wake up in some weird Mexican hotel." Gabriella shot back, grabbing Troy's hand, and winking at him.

"Well drink some good tequila for me."

"I will."

Troy chuckled at the banter between the two. They were quick thinkers and obviously had great senses of humor.

"Are all you Montez women so brazen and blunt?" Troy asked once they were out of the apartment and on their way to the elevator.

Gabriella nodded and removed her hand from Troy's, "Yeah, pretty much. But Lola is harmless and happily married." She pushed a button on the elevator that would take them to the lobby.

"So have you decided on where you want to go?" Troy questioned.

"Yeah."

"Okay, so where?"

"You'll find out when we get there."

"So you're going to drive?"

"Got a problem with that?"

"Np problem at all, angel face."

"Not even if I want to drive your car?"

Troy turned to her, "My car?"

"Yeah."

"What's wrong with your car?"

"Nothing. You told me that you just got a brand new Mercedes-Benz and I want to drive it."

"Gabriella-"

Gabriella looked at Troy with pleading eyes, "Please?"

Troy sighed in obvious defeat. He reached into his pocket and pulled his car keys out, "You can drive."

Gabriella grabbed the keys and smiled, "Yay!"

* * *

They made it to Beverly Hills in no time. Most of that had to with Gabriella's driving. She was most definitely a speeder.

"Wolfgang's Steakhouse." Troy read, after they pulled up to the restaurant.

Gabriella got out of car and tossed the keys to a valet, "You don't like steak?"

"I'm from Texas, darlin'. Steak is as commonplace as water."

"Well good." The pair walked into the restaurant. "I love steak."

"Great."

They were quickly seated at a table. A waiter handed them menus.

"Have you ever been here before?"

"Yeah, only once. My siblings came out here for me and my brother's birthday two years ago and we ate here. What about you?"

Troy shook his head, "Nope, but there is a first time for everything, right?"

"Right. Their steaks are great and so are the crab cakes."

"Well, I'll have to get some of those."

"They won't disappoint."

"Tell me something about yourself, Gabriella."

"Like what?"

"Whatever? Where'd you go to college?"

"I went to NYU. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in business at 21. Then I got my MBA at UCLA's business school a few years later."

"What made you want to be a party planner?"

"Planning parties has always been fun for me. Getting decorations, food, music, I love doing what I do. When I was in high school, someone said I should start doing this professionally, so here I am. I could've went to New York and worked on Wall Street, but that's boring. I don't like boring."

"No one likes boring, and I think it's cool that you have your own company at 25 years old. You're your own boss, you can do whatever you want."

"Yeah, it's cool. It can be extremely stressful, though. People can be so demanding, and they can pick at every single thing that you do or say. Or sometimes, their demands are so outrageous."

"Like?"

"A year ago, I was planning my first party professionally, and the lady wanted to import fish from all over the world because she was having an aquarium themed birthday for her son."

"It would have been simpler to just go to an aquarium."

"Yeah, but I give people what they want. The customer is always right."

"That is true."

"What about you?"

"I went to UCLA where I of course played basketball, and I got a degree in broadcast journalism."

"That sounds fun."

"I liked it. Maybe I'll get a show on ESPN once I retire from basketball."

"Maybe. But you won't have to worry about that for some years."

"Let's hope."

"What are your hobbies?"

"Besides basketball?"

"Obviously."

"I like to go fishing."

"I've never gone fishing before."

Troy's eyes widened in surprise, "Really?"

"No. I am a city girl to the core. I buy my fish from the market."

"My dad, my brother, and I used to go fishing all the time. I'll have to take you one day."

"Sounds like a plan."

"I also like to cook."

"A man that can cook?" Gabriella dramatically put her hand over her heart. "Troy Bolton I think you are absolutely perfect."

Troy smirked, "I like to think I'm just shy of being perfect."

"You have to cook for me too."

"We made plans to go fishing, have me cook, and watch hours of Law and Order. You and I are going to be extremely busy one day."

"Can't wait." Gabriella checked her watch. "I wonder why no one has come to take our orders."

"You in a hurry to leave?"

"No, I'm just starving. I'm ready to eat."

"Don't eat too much. You gotta save room for dessert."

Gabriella scoffed, "I always have room for dessert. You and I are going to split a huge ice cream sundae with everything on it."

Troy smiled, "Angel face, I think I love you."

* * *

"I had a really nice time with you tonight." Troy said, walking down the hall of Gabriella's apartment complex.

"Me too. You're a pretty fun person to be around Troy."

"Thanks. I really strive to be fun."

"Everyone should."

They two stopped at Gabriella's door. Troy nervously put his hands in his pockets. This was the moment where a couple usually kissed, but a very, very tiny part of Troy was scared of Gabriella. He wouldn't put it past her to punch him in the face if he tried to kiss her.

Gabriella looked up at Troy and frowned. He looked nervous and jumpy. "Troy?"

"Yes?"

"Are you okay? You seem a bit weird all of a sudden."

"I like you. A lot."

"I like you too, Bolton."

"And I really want to kiss you, but this is kind of our first date and I don't want to come off as pushy." Troy continued. "I'd hate to ruin things before we-" He was cut off by Gabriella grabbing his neck and crashing her lips against his. It caught Troy off guard but he quickly responded and kissed her back. Gabriella pulled away. "-even had a chance to see where things go."

"You're over thinking this."

Troy took a deep breath, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

Troy looked down at Gabriella, who was standing on her tippy-toes to reach him. He smirked and his forehead against hers. "You're short."

"You're over 6 feet."

"You wanna do this again sometime?"

"This kissing or the date?"

"Well, to be honest, I was a fan of both. But I was talking about the date."

"We'll see if I still like you by the end of the week."

"Come over to my place. I'll cook for you."

"That sounds great." Gabriella removed her hands from Troy's neck. She opened her purse and dug around for her keys. She pulled them out. "Here they are! She slid the key into the slot and turned it. "Call me tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Goodnight Gabriella."

"Goodnight."

Gabriella stepped inside and saw get sister sitting on the couch, a box of pizza sitting on her lap. Lola looked up. "Hey!"

"Hey. What kind of pizza is that?"

"Half chicken, half sausage and pepperoni."

"That sounds good."

"It is. How was your date?"

"My date was amazing." Gabriella sat down next to her sister.

"Where'd you guys go?" Lola asked.

"We went to Wolfgang's Steakhouse."

"Love their crab cakes."

"Yeah they're good."

"So are you guys going out again?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I like him. He seems really nice."

Gabriella smiled, "Me too."


	4. Officially Official?

**Hey guys! I hope you all had an amazing Easter! :)**

* * *

"Are you ever going to go back to San Fransisco?" Gabriella asked, walking into her bathroom, grabbing her toothbrush.

"I'll go back when I feel like it." Lola replied.

"I'm pretty sure Andrew misses you." Gabriella grabbed her tooth paste and squeezed it onto her toothbrush. "Remember him? Andrew Davis? Last time I checked, he was your husband. He's pretty tall, he's a lawyer, he loves Chinese food and baseball."

"I remember him. Once you get married, you'll understand that being apart is great. Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"You guys aren't fighting are you?"

"No. I didn't run away from him or the city. I just wanted to visit you. Is that wrong? You can't rush bonding, Gabs."

"No, but it's been almost a week."

"Let's change the subject." Lola looked at Gabriella, who was wearing a Forever Lazy. "Why don't you change out of that thing because you look ridiculous."

Gabriella took her toothbrush out of her mouth, "This is extremely comfortable and mom got it for me. It was a Christmas gift."

"That doesn't mean you actually have to wear it. You look so stupid."

"I really don't care. You're the only person here."

Lola subtly raised her phone and took a picture of Gabriella. She wondered if Troy would like it. "Yeah because your boyfriend isn't."

Gabriella ignored her sister and continued to brush her teeth. It didn't really feel like Troy was her boyfriend. Were they even that official? Did a few dates make you someone's "girlfriend"? Gabriella didn't even know how she felt about that yet. She didn't really do the whole long term, 100% committed relationship thing.

"Have you talked to Troy?"

"This morning. He got back into town earlier, so I'm pretty sure he has spent the entire day sleeping." Gabriella put her toothbrush back in it's holder. "I'm going to see him tomorrow."

"How are you guys doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Being together. Troy is here one second, and gone another."

"I don't know, we just are. We aren't married or anything. We just enjoy the time we have. And it's not like I'm a sitting duck. I have a pretty busy schedule. My life doesn't revolve around him."

"I'm so glad to hear you say that. The last thing I need is for you to lose yourself in Troy, or in this relationship or whatever you two are calling it."

"If I do, I give you permission to punch me in the face."

Lola rolled her eyes, "I don't need your permission to do that, but I'll take it."

* * *

When Troy entered his apartment, he expected to find it clean, quiet, and empty. However, he found his teammates Dwight, Steve, Kobe and Chad sitting in his living room watching television.

"What the hell is this?" Troy asked, closing his door with his foot. "Did I forget that we were supposed to hang out?"

Chad shook his head. He grabbed the popcorn bowl out of Dwight's hand, "No, we came here on our own."

"Why?"

"Because you have a great apartment. A fridge full of food and beer, a great television with all the good channels, and a comfortable couch."

"And you don't have kids." Steve added. "Kids that are always saying, "Dad do this.", "Fix that.", "Play with me."."

Chad pointed to Troy's terrace where there was a hot tub. "You also got a great hot tub out there."

"Have you guys been in my hot tub?" Troy asked.

"We seriously contemplated it, but decided to just watch some TV."

Steve nodded, "Yeah. Relax, we've done this before."

"Get out." Troy ordered. He had two heavy bags in his hands so he walked to his kitchen to put them down. "Now."

"Why? We're having a good time. Come join us."

"Not that it's any of your business, but Gabriella is coming over."

"Ooh, Gabriella."

"When are we finally going to meet Gabriella?" Kobe asked.

Troy scoffed, "Oh she's never coming around any of you."

"Why not? We don't bite."

"I don't want you to scare her off."

"Chad met her."

"She's great. She's the type of girl who takes no shit, and isn't afraid of anything." Chad said. "I'll be honest, she's a little intimidating. She scares me. I think it's her height, but we all have her beat by some inches. She's a major step up from Troy's ex."

Troy groaned, "Chad, was it necessary to bring up Melanie?"

Chad nodded, "Yeah, it was. I still hate her with a burning passion from the deepest part of my soul."

Troy walked over to his couch and pulled his friends up. He started pushing them towards the front door. "I have to take a shower, and cook-"

"Whatcha cookin'?"

"None of your business." Troy opened his door to find Gabriella on the other side. "Gabriella!"

"Hi." Gabriella greeted, smiling.

"Hi." All five guys greeted back.

"Hi." Gabriella looked at all the guys in the apartment until her eyes landed on Troy, "I shouldn't have come by early, you have company. I can come back later."

"No, don't be silly." Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand and gently pulled her into his apartment, shutting the door behind him. He gestured to his friends. "Gabriella these are my teammates. You already met Chad, but this is Steve, Dwight, and Kobe. Guys, meet Gabriella."

"Gabriella, it's so nice to meet you." Dwight said, pushing Troy off of Gabriella. He pulled her into a tight hug. "We have heard many things about you."

Gabriella smiled, as the almost 7-footer let her out of his grip. "All good things I hope."

"Of course. Troy couldn't say a bad thing about you even if he wanted to."

Troy opened his door again, "Well now that introductions are over, it's time for you to leave."

Chad frowned, "Now? We want to talk to Gabriella."

"Maybe some other time. I'll see you guys at practice."

"But we don't wanna go." Kobe complained.

"But you have to. Bye bye."

The guys all groaned and muttered complaints under their breath as they shuffled out of the apartment. Troy shut the door behind him.

Gabriella turned to Troy, "Sorry for stopping by so early. I was done with work earlier than expected."

"No need to apologize." He took a step towards Gabriella and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm glad you're here. I missed you."

"I missed you too." Gabriella mumbled into Troy's shirt. "Your teammates seem nice."

"They're crazy people." Troy removed his arms from Gabriella. He kissed her forehead. "Apparently when I'm not around, they hang out here like it's some sort of man cave."

Gabriella chuckled, "Just like my sister does. Or any of my siblings for that matter. They totally take advantage of the emergency key when they come out here."

"Do you think you can hang around for a while?" Troy questioned. "I need to take a shower."

"Uh, sure."

"Great. Just make yourself at home."

"I will."

Gabriella watched as Troy went up the stairs and disappeared into a room. She walked over to the couch and sat down.

"Hurry up, Bolton.

* * *

"What are you watching?" Troy asked, walking out of his kitchen. Gabriella was sitting on his couch, remote in hand, flipping through the channels.

"Cake Boss." Gabriella answered. "I think they're making a flip flop."

"I think I saw that one. I wonder how those cakes taste."

"I think they lose their freshness, because they take days to make."

Troy sat down next to Gabriella, "How was your day?"

Gabriella groaned, "Long. Remind me why I'm an event planner."

"Because you love it and your clients are rich so they pay you lots of money."

"That's why!"

"What crazy client do you have now?"

"She's a bride and she wants me and my team to plan her bridal shower, her bachelorette party, and her wedding reception. But she's the most ridiculous person I have ever met. She calls me all day."

Troy chuckled, "Really?"

"I'm shocked she hasn't called now."

"She has your personal phone number?"

"No I have a work phone. I don't want these crazies stalking me."

Troy chuckled. "That's true."

"What about you? How was your day?"

"Pretty uneventful until my teammates broke into my place. I spent most of the day in my bed, sleeping."

"That sounds like the perfect day."

"You want to trade lives?"

"Sure. You can deal with my sister, who has just unofficially temporarily moved into my guest room."

"She's still out here?"

"Yeah. You'd think a lawyer wouldn't have this much free time. She's been so lazy ever since she came out here."

"Well everyone needs a break. That's why I can't wait until the season is over. The first week once basketball is done, I plan on doing absolutely nothing. Then after that week is up, I'll figure out what to do with my life until the season starts back up again."

"Good plan."

"Thank you."

"I think that-"

Gabriella's voice trialed off when she heard the door open and then close.

"Troy?" A female voice called out. "Troy are you here?"

Gabriella turned to Troy with raised eyebrows, "Who is that?" She whispered.

"My sister, Yasmine." Troy whispered back. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Great. I need to vent."

"I'm all ears, Yas."

"My roommate is such a pain in the ass. I was trying to study for a test that I have tomorrow and she invites her friends over. And they're in our apartment, making so much noise and being totally obnoxious. So I just go into my room, but the walls are extremely then so I can hear everything going on. And I'm all for drinking and having fun, but come on, I have a test. She just has no respect for me. And that's just the icing on top of the cake. She eats all of the food, and she is so messy, and I've caught her taking my clothes, and her stupid boyfriend walks around all day in his underwear! Who does crap like that in someone else's apartment?"

"Oh."

"It's smell good in here. Are you cooking steaks."

"Mhmm."

"Troy are you even listening to me?"

"Yes.

Yasmine opened up the refrigerator and grabbed a soda. She closed the door and sighed, "Because I don't think you are."

"Your roommate sucks, I get it."

Yasmine started walking towards the living room, "So can I please crash here tonight? I have a philosophy test that I really need to study-oh my goodness! You have company."

Gabriella waved slightly, "Hi, I'm Gabriella."

Yasmine extended her hand and Gabriella shook it, "Hi, Gabriella. I'm Yasmine."

"It's nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise." Yasmine turned to Troy. "Why didn't you tell me that you were on a date?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, do you live here?"

"No."

"Am I an adult?"

"Yes."

"Then I don't have to tell you anything."

Yasmine smacked Troy's arm, "You let me ramble on like an idiot!"

"It was just so much fun listening to."

Yasmine huffed, "I'll just leave you two alone."

"You're going back to campus?" Troy asked.

"I'll just crash at Val's tonight."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Enjoy your date." Yasmine smiled at Gabriella. "Bye Gabriella."

"Bye."

The pair watched as Yasmine quickly walked out of the apartment. Gabriella laughed. "You've met my extremely crazy sister."

"And now you've met mine. Now you have to meet my brother. He's really ridiculous."

"Trust me when I say mine are crazy too. We are just 4 crazy, outspoken people, who have no concept of boundaries, or personal space. We all have keys to each other's homes. And we are always in each other's business."

"That sounds like my entire family. If you want to keep something a secret, don't even think about telling anyone."

"Then you'll love my family."

"My mother will be so happy to hear that I have a girlfriend who fits in like a missing puzzle piece."

Gabriella's eyebrows shot up. There was that word again. "I'm your girlfriend?"

"Oh shit. Did I say that out loud?"

"Yeah, you did. You just threw me off, Bolton."

"Sorry. That was really forward of me wasn't it?"

"You think of me as your girlfriend?"

Troy shrugged, "Well yeah. What would you call us?"

"I don't know. I honestly haven't thought about it."

"Really?"

"No."

"Well, do you want to be my girlfriend?" Gabriella bit her lip and stayed silent. Troy frowned. "I'm going to say that's a no."

"No! No, that's not it!"

"Okay then what is it?"

"I mean, this is serious. Putting labels on things makes them official, and when you start putting labels on things, they change and I like where we are. We're going with the flow."

"We can still go with the flow. You'd just be my girlfriend who I go with the flow with."

Gabriella sighed, "Troy-"

"I think I know what this is about."

"Oh? Enlighten me, then."

"You're worried about the stigma that comes with being an athlete's girlfriend." Troy explained.

"Well, that wasn't the issue at hand, but it's a valid point." Gabriella didn't do the whole committed relationship thing. In her 25 years of living, she only had one serious, long term relationship. Maybe she had a short attention span and couldn't focus on one guy for a long period of time. Or maybe she just didn't like being tied down to one person. It was suffocating and way too serious for someone in their 20s. The fact that she has been in her apartment for over a year and a half is saying something.

"We don't have to make an official announcement to a magazine or anything."

"Really?" Gabriella smirked. "That's too bad because I actually like those big People Magazine announcements. I read those all the time when I go to Safeway."

"We can take this thing at a snail's pace if you want to. Remember what I said to you when we first met?"

"I can't really remember the specifics. I do remember that there was a lot of begging on your part."

"And it seems like you like it when I beg."

Gabriella nodded, "I do. I like it a lot."

"Anyway, I meant every single word I said to you when we met. You're funny, and interesting, and smart, and gorgeous. I just wanna keep getting to know you."

"You really know how to wear a girl down, don't you?"

Troy shrugged, "I told you that I don't stop until I get what I want, angel face."

"You put up a very compelling argument, Mr. Bolton. And I have greatly considered all of the pros and cons of your offer."

"Are we closing a business deal right now? You sound so professional."

"Well you'll just have to deal with an extremely professional girlfriend."

"I guess, but-wait, what?"

"I'll be your girlfriend. But only on one condition."

Troy grabbed Gabriella's arm and pulled her closer to him. "And what is that one condition?"

"I get a Troy Bolton jersey."

Troy laughed and kissed Gabriella, "Done and done."

"I want it autographed too. I plan on selling it on eBay."

"Sure you do."

"I'm serious. I'm gonna use the money to fuel my extreme shoe addiction."

"I'll buy you shoes, Montez."

"It's not as satisfying when someone else gets them for me, but I'll gladly accept. I'm a size 8 and I love Jimmy Choos."

"I'll remember that."

Gabriella looked up and sniffed the air, "Is something burning?"

"Oh crap!" Troy jumped up. "Those steaks are still in the oven!"

* * *

"You were so against being Troy Bolton's girlfriend." Lola said. "And now look at you. You're his girlfriend."

Gabriella shrugged, "Well you only fight something for so long."

"Does this mean that your amazing big sister gets Lakers tickets for her birthday?"

"No."

Lola frowned, "Why not?"

"Lola, I can buy you tickets on my own. I'm not going to take advantage of my current relationship status."

"That's sucks because I texted Christian and Angelo, and they want tickets too."

"Why did you tell them?"

"What, it's not like you were going to keep it a secret."

"Maybe I wanted to tell them about Troy."

"Next time I get big news, I'll let you tell everyone. I promise."

"I'm holding you to it."

"Since I can't get tickets from Troy, will I at least get to see you on the next season of Basketball Wives?"

Gabriella scoffed, "Absolutely not."

"Gabs, you're no fun."

"You know me. I'd end up fighting every single one of those girls."

"You'd be ratings gold, and the obvious fan favorite. They would keep you on forever and ever."

"How about we not talk about this anymore."

"It's not like I'm dating anyone fun."

Gabriella picked up her phone, "Lola, you're married."

"Andrew isn't that interesting. Trust me, after a while he gets pretty boring."

"That's mean."

"No it's not." Gabriella's phone beeped. "Who is sending you text messages at," Lola looked at the time, "almost midnight?"

"Troy just sent me a picture." Gabriella answered, clicking on the file that Troy sent her. She gasped.

"What's wrong?"

"Why did Troy just send me this?" Gabriella showed Lola her phone and staring back at her was the picture of Gabriella that Lola took the day before.

"Oh, I sent that to Troy."

"Can you not send anyone a picture of me in my Forever Lazy, especially my boyfriend of about 4 hours?"

"If he still wants to be with you after seeing you look so dumb, then you should marry him because he's a keeper."

Gabriella glared at her sister, "I feel like murdering you right now."

"You won't because you would miss me too much."

"Probably not."


	5. Ankle Sprains and Managers

"So word on the street is that our baby sister has a boyfriend."

"Yeah. Thanks for telling us, Gabs. And yes, this is sarcasm."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Hi Angelo. Hi Christian."

"Hi." The two brothers greeted back.

"Is Lola on the line too?" Gabriella asked, shuffling around her office.

"Yes, I am." Lola answered. "Don't you just love our 4-way calls?"

"Lola, we have at least 1 of these every week." Angelo pointed out. "Either this or Skype."

"But to answer your question, Christian, yes I have boyfriend."

"When can we meet Troy?" Angelo asked. "You gonna bring him up north or do we have to camp outside of Staples Center to meet him."

"You guys know you'll probably never get to meet him." Lola said. "You know Gabriella."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you like to hold your boyfriends at arm's length. Away from your family as much as possible." Lola explained.

"You can't hog the athlete, Gabriella!"

"I don't want my two brothers scaring him off."

"We are not going to scare him off." Christian protested.

"I'm calling bullshit, Chris."

"What?"

"You scare off all of our boyfriends." Gabriella said. "You intimidate them."

"I resent that."

"Hey Gabs, have you met any other basketball players?"

"Yes, actually. I got hugged by Dwight Howard a few days ago. Jealous?"

Christian scoffed, "I'll be more impressed when Stephen Curry hugs you. Call me when that happens."

"I will. I'll make sure to send you a picture."

"I'm holding you to that, sis."

"So do mom and dad know about Mr. Athlete?" Angelo questioned.

"I don't know. Do they, Lola?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you tell everyone, everything." Gabriella said, as if the answer was obvious. "You can't keep a secret. If a killer said, "Lola, I need you to keep a secret for me. If you don't, I'll kill you.", you'd be dead."

"That's so true." Angelo agreed.

"That isn't true!"

"Who told Angelo and Chris about Troy?"

Lola sighed, "I did."

Gabriella smirked, "Exactly. You have a big mouth. And no, I haven't told mom and dad yet."

"When are you going to tell them?"

"I don't know, when I feel like it. Troy and I have been together for two, almost three week. It's way too soon to call in the parents."

"That makes sense."

Gabriella's office door opened, and Taylor walked in. "Guys I have to go. I love you."

"Love you too." The siblings said in unison.

Gabriella hung up and smiled, "Hey Tay."

"Hey! Were you in the middle of something?"

"No. Sit down. What brings you by? Do you need me to plan a party?"

Taylor sat down, "No, not that I know of. I want to talk to you."

"Of course. What's up?"

"I have a date tonight." Taylor said.

"What?" Gabriella gasped. "Workaholic Taylor McKessie is going on a date?"

"With Chad." Taylor added.

"Troy's best friend?" Taylor nodded. "We're going to have such fun double dates."

"But Chad seems like such a-"

"Womanizer."

"Exactly. At least you knew what you were getting in to."

"No I don't. I don't know Troy's crazy schedule, his family, his lifestyle. I'm still trying to figure him out.

"Well with Troy, you're getting the sweet, charismatic southern boy. I'm getting the womanizing, egotistical playboy."

"So why did you accept the date invitation?"

"Because I like him. The good side of him."

"I like Chad too. He's a nice guy. He just needs a woman like you to keep him in line. A smart, sassy, take no B.S. type of woman. You'd be good for him. And he'd be good for you."

"You think?"

"Yeah. Go out with him." Gabriella shrugged. "And if you don't like him, then you don't like him."

"The roles have reversed. Not too long ago, I was telling you to give Troy a chance."

"Now I'm telling you the same thing."

Taylor sighed, "Okay, I'll go out with him."

"Who knows? Maybe you two crazy kids will hit it off, run away and get married in Vegas."

A look of panic settled across Taylor's face, "Gabriella, that's not funny."

Gabriella laughed, "The look on your face was."

"I don't like to be teased, Gabs. Especially like that."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Are you done teasing?"

Gabriella nodded, "I am. I pinky swear."

"Okay." Taylor looked at her watch and bolted out of her seat. "Shoot, I have to go."

"Bye. Call me later."

Taylor quickly rushes towards the door, "I will. Bye."

* * *

"You're setting such a high standard for restaurants, Bolton." Gabriella said walking into Troy's apartment. "You're spoiling me."

"Well you deserve it."

"How'd you even get us into that place?" Gabriella asked, putting her purse on Troy's coffee table. "It takes an arm and a leg to get a reservation."

"Zeke owns it."

"Are you serious?"

Troy gave her a slight nod, "Yes. So I get best friend privilege. And you get best friend's girlfriend privilege."

"I like the sound of that. I can eat as much of that stuff as possible."

Troy tugged at his tie, "I'm gonna go change out of this."

"Okay."

Troy disappeared up the stairs, leaving Gabriella alone. She turned and scanned the living room. There was a bar in the corner. She walked over and quickly looked at the alcohol. There was a bottle of red wine with a big yellow bow on top of it. Gabriella lifted the bottle and read it. "Cakebread Cellars."

"I got that three years ago." Gabriella jumped a bit, not expecting to hear Troy's voice behind her. "It was a gift from my cousin, Cassie after I bought this place."

Gabriella turned around and faced Troy, who was now wearing a white t-shirt and grey sweats. "Not a fan of red wine?"

"No that's not it. I've just never drank it."

"I've consumed more wine than what should be allowed."

Troy reached over Gabriella's head to open the cabinet. He grabbed two wine glasses. "And why is that?"

"My parents have a house in Napa and when we're out there, we do a lot of wine tasting."

Troy walked away from Gabriella and into the kitchen, "I learn more about you every day."

Gabriella pulled the cork out of the bottle, "Because I'm such a fascinating person."

"I guess I can agree to that."

"You guess." Gabriella started walking over to Troy. "I would think-" Gabriella was cut off by her heel getting snagged in the rug, throwing her off. She forcefully pulled her foot out of the rug and ended up losing her footing. "Ouch."

"Are you all right?" Troy asked, quickly striding over to Gabriella, who was holding her ankle.

Gabriella shook her head, "My ankle is killing me." She looked down at her white blouse, which was now stained with red wine. "And my shirt is ruined."

Troy extended his hand and Gabriella accepted. He pulled her up and led her to his couch. "Keep your foot up. I'll go get you an ice pack."

"It's starting to swell." Gabriella said, looking at her ankle.

"Can you move your foot at all?"

"I really don't want to move or touch it."

"Try angel face."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

Gabriella slowly rotated her foot. Her face contorted at the pain. "Remind you to punch you for making me do that."

"How bad does it hurt on a scale of 1 to 10? 1 being minor pain and 10 being take me to the hospital right now."

"4."

Troy sat down on his coffee table and gently lifted Gabriella's foot, "Well the good news is that you can move your foot. Now lets see if you can walk."

"Bolton you have lost your mind. There is no way I'm walking on this."

Troy lowered Gabriella's foot and stood, "We have to."

"No."

"Yes."

"It hurts."

"I know it does. I'm a basketball player. I have hurt my ankle enough times to know what I'm doing." Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand and she slowly got off of the couch. Troy stepped away from Gabriella. Walk towards me."

"Are you sure you didn't major in pre-med in college?"

"Like I said, I've had enough ankle injuries in my time. Now quit stalling."

Gabriella took a small step towards Troy, trying to walk as lightly on her right foot as possible. She quickly took another. "I'm done walking."

"Okay. You can sit."

Gabriella plopped back down on the couch. She reached for the ice pack in front of her and quickly put it on her ankle.

"Your shirt is ruined."

"Don't remind me."

"I can get you a new one."

"Yes please."

"I'll be right back."

Gabriella pulled off her red heel that was on her left foot, "Christian Louboutins, you've failed me." She twisted her torso and looked at her other shoe, laying next to Troy's rug. "Rug, you've failed." Her eyes traveled right and landed on the spilled bottle of wine. "Wine, you've failed me as well."

She looked down at her blouse, "What a waste of money. I should've bought the bracelet instead." She hastily undid the buttons on her shirt, all while muttering under her breath in annoyance.

"A shirt for the..." Tory's voice trailed off when he noticed Gabriella wasn't wearing her shirt. "You know, I wasn't expecting you to get undressed in my living room."

"It's not like I can walk anywhere." She reached out to take the shirt out of Troy's hand, but he pulled it back. "Troy."

"I like you much better without a shirt on."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. She didn't know why she thought he could have a bit of maturity for a moment, "Troy hand me the shirt, please."

Troy walked away from Gabriella, "Say the magic word."

"Troy my ankle is throbbing right now."

"Okay, okay." Troy smirked, "Why don't you soak your foot in my hot tub?"

"I don't have my bathing suit."

"You can get naked. No one has ever been naked in there, but I'm willing to make an exception for you."

"Troy!"

"You're really cute when you're irritated."

"Then I must be gorgeous right now."

"You're gorgeous all the time."

Gabriella slowly stood up and hopped over to Troy and fell into him, knocking him down. "Stop flirting with me. Flattery will get you nowhere in this situation."

The door suddenly opened and Gabriella looked up. A woman who seemed to be a bit older than her, carrying a BlackBerry walked in.

Troy turned to the door as well, "Hey."

"Oh Troy." The woman sighed, taking in the scene in front of her. "Really?"

"Really what?"

"I get you're lonely now that Melanie is gone, but you can't just go out and find the first random woman you meet."

"Random woman?" Gabriella repeated, raising her eyebrow.

"Yes, I know you and Melanie were together for a long time, and there are still wounds that need healing but girls you stumble upon and sleep with aren't going to fill the void." The woman continued.

Gabriella managed to push herself off of Troy. He handed her the shirt which she quickly put on.

Troy rolled out of the chair and walked over to the woman, "Rachel what on earth are you-"

"How do we know that this woman isn't going to sleep with you and run to the nearest magazine."

Gabriella's eyes narrowed, "Excuse me?"

The woman gestured to Gabriella, "No offense to you, but I just want Troy to be careful about who he invites into his home and maybe even his bed."

"I'm sorry, but who the hell are you?" Gabriella asked, feeling her anger rise.

"Rachel. I'm Troy's manager. And you?"

"Gabriella Montez. I'm Troy's girlfriend."

"His girlfriend?"

"Yeah. My girlfriend. Rachel, meet Gabriella. Gabriella meet Rachel, my God sister and my manager."

"You know what?" Gabriella hopped over to the couch and grabbed her shoes. "I think I'm going to go."

"You're in no condition to drive. I'll take you home in a minute. Just sit down and prop your foot up. I'll be right out back." Troy forcefully grabbed Rachel's arm dragged her out the front door. "Rachel, what are you doing here?"

"I've been trying to reach you all night."

"We'll it's 11 O'clock at night. Why didn't you get the memo that I was ignoring you?"

"You have an interview and a photo shoot with Sports Illustrated tomorrow."

"Why didn't you call me earlier?"

"I was busy."

"You could've called at a more appropriate time."

"I'm sorry I interrupted your...whatever that was in there."

"It was nothing. We went to dinner, we came back here. Gabriella was opening a bottle of wine when she fell and hurt her ankle. Wine got on her shirt, so I gave her a new one."

"I don't like your girlfriend."

Troy rolled his eyes, "Why not?"

"She seemed rude."

"We'll she just twisted her ankle, ruined her shirt, and you implied that she was an opportunistic, gold digging, whore!" Troy hissed.

"I did not!"

"You did."

"How long have you even had a girlfriend?"

"I've known Gabriella for three months."

"That's how long you've been broken up from Melanie."

"I know."

"So she's your rebound?"

"No she isn't. I'm in a serious relationship and I really like her."

"How do you know she isn't using you? You've known this girl for three months. How much do you know about her?"

"She's from San Francisco, she has two brothers and one sister. Her favorite color is teal. Her mom is a doctor and her dad is a lawyer. She was raised Catholic, and went to Catholic school up until she started college. She graduated from NYU and went to UCLA's business school and she has her own party planning business so I really doubt she's after my money." Troy said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go take her home. I suggest you go there too."

He walked back into his apartment. Gabriella was sitting down, her leg propped up on a pillow. "You ready?"

"Yeah. Here, I'll help you up."

"Thank you."

"I'm sorry about that."

Gabriella stood and put her arm around Troy's shoulder. He put his around her waist. "It's not everyday someone says I'm with their God brother for 15 minutes of fame."

"I saw the look on your face. You were pissed."

"Well, it doesn't take a lot to piss me off, given my current situation."

Troy gripped Gabriella a bit tighter so he could grab his car keys with dropping her, "You sure you don't want me to take you to the ER right now?"

"I'll have Taylor take me in the morning."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"I feel really bad. Your hurt yourself in my apartment."

"Just get rid of that rug."

Troy opened his front door and entered the hallway, "Deal."

* * *

"Want to tell me how you twisted your ankle?" Taylor asked, holding Gabriella's front door open so she could walk through.

"I was in Troy's apartment-"

Taylor grimaced, "I'm not sure I really want to hear this story anymore."

"It's not weird or anything."

"Oh. Okay continue."

"I was at his bar and I grabbed a bottle of wine. I opened it and I was walking towards the kitchen when I got my heel caught in his rug. As I was pulling my heel out, I fell and landed completely wrong."

"That sucks."

"And I got wine on my shirt."

Taylor gasped, "Oh you poor thing. Did you break a heel as well?"

"Tay, that's not funny. My Louboutins are like my babies."

"You're so materialistic."

"Taylor, I was wearing $900 shoes last night. That price would make anyone go crazy over them."

"You have a point."

Gabriella put her crutches on the side of her couch and sat, "So how was your date?"

"My date was really fun actually."

"Ooh, what'd you guys do? Where did he take you?"

"We went cosmic bowling."

"Bowling? No fancy dinner?"

"We ate chicken wings."

"I love chicken wings."

"Who doesn't?"

"But you had a good time?"

Taylor nodded, "I had a great time."

"Yay!" Gabriella squealed, "I was right, and you were wrong."

"What a rare occurrence."

"I don't need your sass right now. My ankle hurts."

"What does a sprained ankle have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with everything concerning me."

"You're going to milk this sprained ankle, aren't you?"

"Yes. And Troy feels really guilty so I'll definitely lay it on thick around him."

"How guilty?"

"This morning he sent me roses, a box of Godiva chocolates, and a pair of Chanel sunglasses."

"He's a man with taste. I like that."

"I like it too."

Gabriella's phone rang. Taylor quickly got up and grabbed it. She didn't want Gabriella overexerting herself. Gabriella smiled graciously at her friend. "I love you."

"I know."

Gabriella looked at the screen. Troy was requesting a FaceTime. She quickly accepted. "Hey!"

"Hey back. How are you feeling?"

"It still hurts, but I have pain meds to help me."

Troy frowned, "Angel face I'm sorry about get out last night. It went from bad to worse."

"It wasn't all that bad. The dinner was fantastic. I want to hire Zeke as my personal chef now."

"He loves to get complimented. I'll tell him that you said that. And once again, I'd like to apologize for Rachel. She talks out of her ass at times."

"It's forgotten. She didn't bother me."

"Really?"

"Really."

"I have some news that might bother you."

"Uh-oh. What is it?"

"Rachel thinks that I…that we should go public with this thing."

"Our relationship?"

"Yes. She thinks that people should know that the NBA's most eligible guy is off the market again."

"People knew you were single?"

"Chad put it on Twitter 5 minutes after I got dumped. Then it was on E! News two hours later."

Gabriella smirked, "Good news travels fast, huh?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to call you and give you a heads up. People are going to take an interest in you. A large interest."

"How large?"

"Digging through your trash large."

"Well that sounds…fun."

"It's one of the perks to dating an athlete."

Gabriella smirked, "I think the courtside seats are a much better perk"

"Me too. Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I promise."

"Good. I'll talk to you later okay?"

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah,"

"Bye. Rest your ankle."

"I will. Bye."

Gabriella clicked end call and put her phone down. She knew dating Troy would come with being in the spotlight, but she wasn't expecting 'digging in your trash', stalking.

She turned to Taylor, "Tay what did I get myself into?"

"A relationship."

* * *

Hello! Happy June! I hope you are all having an amazing summer vacation. Read and review. :)


	6. Ten's A Crowd

"I knew I smelled coffee." Troy announced, walking into his kitchen. He walked up behind Gabriella and put his hands on her shoulders.

He had gotten quite used to Gabriella being in his apartment. It started with her spending the night, then it was a shirt or two in his bedroom. Now she was making coffee in the morning. Sometimes it even felt like she lived there. But he knows Gabriella is not the type to move in with a boyfriend.

Gabriella turned her head slightly and kissed Troy's cheek. "I needed caffeine. I hope you don't mind."

"Knock yourself out."

"You want some?"

"Yes. Just black."

"Bleh! I need a lot of sugar in my coffee."

"You seem like the type of person who puts a lot if creamer and sugar in their coffee."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Gabriella turned around and handed Troy a cup of coffee, "You wear glasses?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Since when?"

"Since I was 7. I have contacts too, but it's morning and I'm lazy. I can't believe you didn't know."

Gabriella shrugged, "Never noticed." She pointed to her eyes, "I wear glasses as well, but I slept in my contacts."

"And another thing gets added to the list of things we have in common."

Gabriella's phone rang. She groaned loudly and turned around to get it off of the kitchen counter. Her assistant was calling her. "Hold on, Bolton." She answered the call, "Hey Aly."

"Hi Miss Montez."

"What can I do for you?"

"I came to your apartment to drop off a portfolio, and a weird guy was standing outside of your apartment with a camera."

"What?" Gabriella tensed up.

"When I asked him what he was doing, he asked me, "Is this where Troy Bolton's girl lives?"."

"How did you respond?"

"I said no. And he left."

Gabriella sighed, "Okay. And what were you dropping off at my place?"

"A potential client wanted to meet up with you. She even had her own portfolio of pictures and ideas."

"She sounds lovely."

"Yeah, I know."

"Tell her I'm on vacation and I won't be back for a few days. Or give the party to someone else. Maybe Trevor."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

Gabriella let out a frustrated groan as she put her phone back on the counter.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm seriously contemplating breaking up with you." Gabriella said.

Troy stared at Gabriella, too stunned to speak. There had to be some way that she was joking.

"Break up with me?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Someone was waiting for me outside of my apartment. Probably paparazzi."

"Thankfully, you weren't home."

"This is really overwhelming. People are hanging outside my apartment, Lola said there was a segment about you and I on E!, this is just really overwhelming. I'm not used to this."

"Wait, someone was at your place?"

Gabriella took a sip of her coffee, "Yeah."

"Want me to stake out your place?"

"Troy, I carry a taser and a letter opener in my purse. I don't need you to be a watch man for me."

"I feel bad for the poor unsuspecting soul that bothers you."

"I'm going to have to talk to the doorman and building security."

"Or you could stay with me for another day or two." Troy suggested.

"But I'm breaking up with you, remember?"

Troy shook his head and hugged Gabriella closer to him, "You aren't leaving me."

"I'm not?"

"No. I won't allow it. And you can stay here for a few more days."

"Mhmm, as tempting as that sounds, Bolton, that won't solve the problem. It'll just delay my reaction."

"You have a point."

"But I guess I could stay one more night."

Troy smiled. He grabbed Gabriella's face and pulled her in to kiss her.

"Gross, guys. People have to eat in that kitchen."

The couple pulled apart and noticed Troy's sister standing there.

"Yasmine, why are you here?"

"I left my book here when I spent the night the other day." Yasmine answered. She grabbed Troy's coffee mug. "Now I don't have time to chatter. I have to get back on campus before my 10:45 class!" She took a sip of the coffee, handed the cup back to Troy and ran up the stairs.

"She reminds me of Lola when she drops by my apartment."

"Sisters are great, right?"

"Yeah."

Yasmine ran back the stairs a textbook and notebook in hand. "I gotta go!" She grabbed Troy's coffee again. "See you guys later!"

The door shut behind Yasmine and Troy sighed, "She took my coffee."

"I can get you another cup."

"That's not the point. She just barged in here."

"That's what siblings do."

"Maybe I should move away and not give anyone my new address. Yas has a key, Rachel has a key, I am willing to bet that my mother has a key, the guys have a key and they use this apartment as their man cave."

"My siblings do the same thing."

"It's annoying."

Gabriella's eyes lit up, "We should go away!"

"Away where?"

"Remember I was telling you about my parent's house in Napa?"

"You want to go to Napa?"

"Yes. Have you ever been there?"

"No."

"Oh you'd love it. It's gorgeous. We can go to the spa, we can shop, we could just relax. How nice does relaxing sound?"

"It sounds great."

"Please? We'll have so much fun."

"Angel face..."

"Come on. I need to get out of L.A. You need to get out of L.A. Napa is great."

"Because you spent a chunk of your childhood there."

"I know. But from a totally unbiased point of view, it's a great city."

"You can afford to just leave?"

"Yes. I have no parties to plan at the moment. So lets just go. I can book the plane tickets."

"You really want to go?"

"I really do. Plus when you go on vacation with a significant other, you really get to see if you work."

"Okay."

Gabriella flung her arms excitedly around Troy's neck, "We're going to have so much fun. Just the two of us."

* * *

"Am I going to carry all of these groceries?" Troy asked as Gabriella slid the key into the keyhole and opened the door.

"Yes. Don't be such a big baby about it."

"You could at least carry one. I have to back to the car to get the rest."

"Quit whining." Gabriella turned around and grabbed the bags out of Troy's arms. "Happy now?"

"Very happy."

"Go get the rest of the groceries." Gabriella ordered.

"You're so bossy."

As Troy walked back out of the house, Gabriella headed towards the kitchen. It still looked the same. Stainless steel appliances, white cabinets, tile floors, black granite countertops, a chandelier was still hanging over the island in the center of the kitchen. The turned to the left and there was still an archway leading into the dining room.

"Wow it looks great in here."

"I know. I haven't been here in about 2 years. I didn't realize how much I missed this place."

Troy put the grocery bags on the island. He started unloading the bags when Gabriella stopped him. "What?"

"Just put the ice cream in the freezer before it melts. I want to show you around."

"All right." Troy pulled the two cartons of ice cream out of the bag and opened the freezer door. He shoved the ice cream into the freezer. "Give me the tour."

"Okay, right now we are obviously in the kitchen." Gabriella extended her hand which Troy grabbed. She pulled him into the living room. "We used to have such crazy times in this house. We'd throw parties out here because we knew it'd be impossible to have one in the city."

"That doesn't surprise me."

"Because I'm a party planner, haha. Aren't you clever?"

"Very clever."

Gabriella pulls Troy to the back of the house, out the sliding glass door, and into the backyard. The view was fantastic. Nothing but trees and vineyards. There was a pool, a hot tub, and a fire pit.

"Isn't the view...breathtaking?"

Troy nodded, "Your parents got a gem when they bought this place."

"I could sit out here for hours. It's such a contrast to San Francisco. Nothing ever stops, everything keeps moving, that city never sleeps. But out here, you can at least take a deep breath and think."

"I never would've known that the city girl would be such a sucker for peace and quiet."

"You're teasing."

"I'm sorry. Hey why don't you show me your bedroom."

"You aren't the first guy to ask to see my room."

"Well am I the first that gets to actually see it?"

Gabriella quickly turns around and walks up the stairs, "Of course, baby."

"Wait are you serious?"

"Let's change the subject."

Troy frowned, but didn't say anything else. He just followed Gabriella to her room.

The first thing he noticed was that there was a lot of teal. That was the color of one of the walls, the pillows, one of the rugs, and various other little things Gabriella had in this room.

"I'll never forget your favorite color."

"Oh yeah. I decorated this room when I was 14 and I went overboard with the teal."

Troy took off his shoes, "It's nice."

"Thank you. What time is it?"

Troy looked at his watch, "1:29."

Gabriella sat down on her bed, "It's still early." She pulled off her tennis shoe and tossed them on the floor. "There is so much to do. What do you want to do?"

"I want to stay right here."

"That's no fun." Gabriella got up, careful not to land on her bad foot too harshly. "I'm going to get something to eat." She hopped over to the door. "You want something?"

"Oh no, no, no." Troy jumped up and quickly got to Gabriella, grabbing her by the waist.

"Troy! Put me down."

"The food can wait."

* * *

"You smell like a vanilla ice cream cone." Troy said as Gabriella came out of the en suite in a cloud of steam.

"That's what happens when you have vanilla scented shower gel, Troy."

"It smells good."

"Thank you." Gabriella sat down. She pointed to her nightstand. "Can you hand me my wrap please?"

Troy handed her the wrap, "How's your ankle?"

"It's not bothering me right now."

"That's good." Troy turned to Gabriella, "Are you wearing my shirt?"

"Yeah."

"You packed a crap load of clothes and you're wearing my stuff."

"Why are you complaining? You told me not too long ago that I look good in your shirt."

"You didn't need to pack a huge suitcase that I had to lug in here, might I add."

Gabriella slapped Troy's bare chest, "Speaking of shirts, you aren't wearing one."

"Yeah, because you're wearing mine."

"You want it back?" Gabriella asked, twisting the buttons.

"Nope."

"Okay then." Gabriella got up. "Let's go get some ice cream."

"Did we buy toppings?"

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah we got toppings."

Troy's phone beeped. He quickly glanced at it, "Give me just a second. I just got an e-mail."

"All right." Gabriella walked out of her room and slowly down the stairs. The last thing she needed was for her ankle to give out on a staircase.

She made it to the kitchen, and pulled a carton of vanilla ice cream out of the freezer. She turned to the cabinets so she could get bowls.

"Gabriella?"

Gabriella jumped and dropped the ice cream. She quickly turned around and saw her brother-in-law, Andrew standing in front of her. "Andrew! Hi. What are you doing out here?"

"Lola and I came here to enjoy the weekend." Andrew answered.

"Lola's here?"

"Yeah."

Gabriella groaned, "Dammit." She dropped down to get the ice cream up. "Thanks a lot Andrew! And Lola."

"I'm sorry."

"Why couldn't you two stay in San Francisco?"

"What are you doing out here? You live like 400 miles away."

Before Gabriella could answer, Lola walked into the kitchen, along with her two brothers, and their significant others.

Gabriella's eyes got wide, "What the fuck is going on?"

"Hey baby sister." Christian greeted. He kissed her forehead. "You smell like those candles mom buys."

"Are we having a family meeting or something?" Angelo asked, dropping his suitcase.

"No. Then we'd have to include mom and dad."

"Include mom and dad in what?"

As if her siblings weren't enough, Gabriella's parents, Greg and Cristina walked into the kitchen.

"Well isn't this lovely. It looks like the whole family is here."

"Hi mom." Gabriella greeted. "Hi dad."

"Princess, what are you doing out here?"

"I just wanted to get out of Los Angeles."

"Is everything all right?"

Gabriella leaned up against the kitchen counter, "Everything is perfect, daddy."

Christian smirked, "So Gabs, where are your clothes?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're only wearing a shirt." Christian pointed out. "A man's shirt."

"I wasn't expecting my entire family to show up here. If I did I would be wearing more clothes. And I'm going to put some more on right now." Gabriella turned around. "I'll be back." She looked up and saw Troy coming down the stairs, shirtless.

"Okay baby, what type of ice cream...are...we...eating?"

"Well this is interesting." Lola said, smiling. "Hi Troy."

"Hi Lola. Hi everyone else."

"What the hell is Troy Bolton doing in my kitchen?" Greg asked.

"Troy Bolton is my boyfriend." Gabriella answered. "Troy I would like you to meet my brothers Christian and Angelo, my sister-in-law Robin, my brother's girlfriend Hayden, my brother-in-law Andrew, and my parents Greg and Cristina."

Troy extended his hand for Greg to shake, "It's nice to meet you Mr. Montez, Dr. Montez."

Cristina smiled, "Nice to meet you too."

Greg looked at Troy's hand for a short while before giving it a near death grip. "You are standing shirtless in my kitchen."

Christian scoffed, "Dad isn't it obvious? Gabriella's wearing it."

Gabriella glared at her older brother, "I want to choke you."

"I love you too."

"Sweetheart, what happened to your ankle?" Cristina asked, noticing her daughter's bandaged ankle.

"Oh it's nothing mom. It's just a sprain."

"How'd you sprain it?"

"I was in Troy's apartment and I fell." Gabriella replied.

Greg's eyes narrowed at Troy, "My daughter is getting injuries in your apartment? What type of death trap do you live in?"

Troy swallowed nervously, "Sir, I didn't-"

"It was an accident." Gabriella cut in, trying to save her boyfriend from the mini panic attack he was about to have. "I was on crutches for about a week, but all I really need is this compression wrap."

"Do you want me to take a look at it?"

Gabriella shook her head, "Mom, can you stop being a doctor for a few seconds?"

"Sorry. The doctor in me and the mother in me is nervous. I just don't like when you get hurt.

"I'm fine. I promise."

"So why don't you two go put on some clothes and then come back down here." Greg suggested.

"Yes sir."

The couple quietly walked back upstairs and to Gabriella's room. Gabriella quickly put on the first pair of pants she spotted and she tossed Troy a shirt.

"So much for a quiet, romantic weekend. We can leave first thing in the morning if you want."

"You want to leave?"

"You want to stay?"

"Yeah. I want to get to know your family. All 8 of those people in there."

"You sure?"

"Angel face, your family cannot be any crazier than mine."

"I don't think so."

* * *

"I got the wine." Angelo said, holding up two bottles. "One red, one white."

Christian smiled, "Nothing like alcohol at," He checked his cell phone, "12:29 AM."

Lola held up a bag of marshmallows, "I got everything we need to make s'mores. We can roast the marshmallows over the fire pit."

"That sounds fantastic." Gabriella gushed, sitting in front of the fire pit. "Chocolate and alcohol."

Angelo took the marshmallows out of Lola's hands, "Hey Gabriella, I don't want to be introduced to any more of your boyfriends that are shirtless. I feel like I have to go to the gym after looking at him. And I'm in pretty good shape."

"Angelo, shut up."

"We need a schedule for who gets to have a mini vacation here." Christian said. "Because we can't do this again. The Montez family telepathy thing isn't cute anymore."

"Sorry your plans to sleep with your wife were interrupted, Chris." Lola remarked.

"Oh please, Lola, we all know you and Drew didn't just come out here to walk through the vineyards. We all came out here with romantic intentions, but that is now shot to hell."

Angelo laughed, "Guys why don't we look on the bright side."

Lola sighed, "There is no bright side."

"We aren't Gabriella." Angelo continued.

Gabriella frowned, "Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You and Troy came from Southern California to get away and what do you get? Your family. We only had to drive one hour, and you had to drive six."

"We didn't drive. We flew."

"Even worse."

"Next time, we'll just go to Hawaii. Or Cabo."

"I guess you and Troy are pretty serious. He got to meet us."

"Not willingly."

"You were so worried that Chris and I would run Troy off, but dad is the one who is scaring the poor guy half to death."

"Don't remind me." Gabriella looked to Lola, "Did Andrew get such a cold welcome?"

"Andrew had a shirt on when he met dad. But dad is dad, so he's going to be tough no matter what."

Gabriella frowned, "Dad has him absolutely terrified."

"Just tell him to stay strong. He'll survive."

"Yeah, it's not like dad is going to take him out to the woods and shoot him."

"Does anyone else have any news?" Gabriella questioned. "I would like to deflect the attention."

"I do!" Lola responded, excitedly. "Andrew and I are moving."

"Where?"

"To Los Angeles!"

Gabriella squealed and practically lunged at her sister, pulling her into a bone crushing hug.

Angelo covered his ears, "Can you guys shut up? I'd like it if my eardrums did not explode."

"I'm very excited. My sister is going to be living in the same city as me. Don't ruin this for me."

"Don't ruin this for me." Angelo mimicked.

"You are so annoying. Do you know that?"

"I pride myself in it actually."

"How are we twins?"

"I think you took life science with me in middle school, Gabs. You should know how."

"You're such a smart ass."

"Thanks, sis."

"Fraternal twins are just like any other siblings. They just share a womb and are born at the same time." Lola pointed out. "You guys aren't identical."

"How is Mr. Athlete liking northern Cali?"

"We haven't done much, but tomorrow we're going wine tasting."

"Of all the places in the world, why would you come to Napa?" Christian asked, leaning forward. "Troy didn't want to go anywhere a little more...fun?"

"No, we wanted to relax. Despite what people think, Troy isn't too much of a party person. I do most of the partying in our relationship."

"I'm glad you found someone who isn't as outgoing as you are."

"I'm glad you found someone in general and you're sticking to him."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just glad that we're getting to actually meet him." Angelo said. "I'm shocked the Sagittarius in you hasn't dumped him."

"Angelo, you make it seem like I do not know how to be in a relationship."

"I'm just saying its an accomplishment that you have been in a relationship for this long. You don't like relationships."

"Your just as much Sagittarius as I am, Angelo."

"I've been with the same person for 3 years."

"Why are we having this argument?"

"It's not an argument, it was an observation that you got defensive over."

Lola cleared her throat loudly and grabbed the bottle of white wine out of Angelo's hand, "Why don't we all shut up and drink. That sounds like a good idea."

Gabriella pulled the other bottle out of his hand. She pulled the cork out and drank straight from the bottle.

"Slow down speed racer." Christian teased, cracking a smile.

"Yeah, because red wine is such a crazy drink."

"It is. Red wine is the new whiskey."

Lola stood up, "So who wants to eat raw cookie dough?"

Some time later, Gabriella stumbled into her bedroom. Troy was in bed, sleeping on his side, Sports Center on in the background.

She walked over to the nightstand, fumbling in the dark to turn on the lamp. When she managed to get it on, she sat down on her bed and poked Troy's chest.

"Troy?"

Troy stirred a bit in his sleep, but didn't wake up, "Mhmm."

Another poke, "Troy, wake up."

"What?"

"Troy! We have to talk."

Troy turned slightly onto his right side and slowly opened his eyes. Gabriella was staring at him. He sat up. "What time is it?"

"A little after two in the morning." Gabriella answered.

"Is everything all right? Is something wrong?"

"Everything is fine. Why are you so paranoid?"

"Because there has to be some kind of emergency. Why else would you wake me up at such an ungodly hour?"

"We need to talk."

"Angel face go to sleep. We can talk in the morning."

"Technically it is morning."

"Are you always so technical at two in the morning?"

"I'm serious."

"Have you been drinking?"

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah, I've been drinking. I drank the majority of a bottle of wine, but that's not the point."

Troy smirked, slightly amused, "What is the point?"

"How serious are you about our relationship?"

"What?"

"How serious are you about our relationship?" Gabriella repeated.

"I'm very serious."

"Good. Because I am too."

"Good. Now let's go to sleep."

Before Troy's head could hit the pillow, Gabriella poked him again. "I'm not done."

"Of course you aren't."

"We're in a 'no judgement zone', okay?"

"No judgement."

"Pinky swear?"

"Why do you love pinky swears so much?"

"If you break the swear, your pinky gets cut off."

"Are you going to cut off my pinky?"

"Troy! You're distracting me."

"Sorry. I'm done talking."

Gabriella crossed her legs Indian style and sat up straighter. "Remember when you first asked me to be your girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"And I had my reservations about the whole thing."

"Yeah."

"It wasn't just about being your girlfriend because you are an athlete and athletes are known to cheat. I mean, it was a very valid and legit reason, but it wasn't the only one. It was about being a girlfriend general."

Troy stared at Gabriella, a bit confused. He still had sleep on the brain and she was rambling to him. "What?"

"Does it sometimes feel like I am unattached or distant?"

"Like I am just your friend and not your boyfriend?"

"Yeah, like that."

"No." Gabriella knowingly stared at Troy. "A little bit. I kind of had to beg to be with you."

"I've only ever had one other serious boyfriend." Gabriella started. "The type to meet the parents, and people look at us and know we're dating. He cheated on me with one of my ex-friends. I decided that it was easier to just go out and have fun. I breakup with guys when they start asking questions like, "You want to come home with me for the holidays?" or, "Where do you see us in 10 years?" or, "How many kids do you picture us having?". Things start to get suffocating and serious, and I don't like that. I freak out and bolt. I like flings and I hate labels because I don't have to deal with guys clinging to me afterwards."

"I'm so lost. Where is all of this coming from?"

"My stupid brother and his stupid mouth." Gabriella mumbled. "We are all blatantly honest and we just start talking and sometimes we say stupid shit. We kind of tune each other out 90 per cent of the time, but not tonight."

"What did he say?"

"It wasn't even serious. He just said that I can't stick to relationships. My family is always saying stuff like that, but it just stuck with me this time."

"Do you think you're going to stick with me?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I do."

"And I'm sticking with you. And that's all that matters, right?"

"Right."

Troy smirked, "And besides, darlin', I'm not some cheating rascal."

"I know you aren't. Just...be patient with me, please. I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with being your girlfriend and just being a girlfriend in general. I really, really like you, and I want to make this...us work, but I have been known to do a lot of self sabotaging."

"As long as you don't wake up in the middle of the night, pack a suitcase and head to Europe without notice, I think we'll be fine."

"But taking random trips is fun. One time when I was younger, Lola and I went to San Jose in the middle of the night."

"Try not to do that."

"No promises."

Troy wrapped his arm around Gabriella's waist and pulled her down. "Can I go to bed now?"

Gabriella rolled over, do that she was now on top of Troy. "You can go back to bed, Bolton."

Troy rolled over again, but this time it was over and the two fell out of the bed, landing with a thud.

"Oof!"

"Troy, get off of me." Gabriella ordered, squirming to get out from under Troy.

"Just enjoy it, baby."

"Gabriella!" Gabriella heard her mother call. "Gabriella are you okay?"

"I'm fine mom!"

"What was that noise?"

"I rolled out of bed." Gabriella replied, yelling back. "You know I'm a wild sleeper."

"Okay. Well be careful."

"I will."

"Good night, hon."

"Night mom."

* * *

"Five Things To Know About Troy Bolton's New Girlfriend." Lola read off of her iPad, walking into the kitchen.

Gabriella looked up from the magazine she was reading to give her sister some attention. "Lola, what are you doing?"

"I wanted you to see this." Lola gave her sister the iPad. "As you know, I am a sucker for celebrity gossip and I was online and I found this article about you on E!'s website."

Gabriella looked down at the screen. At least they picked a good picture of her to use for the article. She was leaving a party that she planned and she was wearing a black mini dress, a pair of red YSL pumps, and holding a red clutch. She had a huge smile on her face and was waving to someone off camera. "My legs looked great in that dress. I don't even know where that dress is anymore."

"It's at my house." Lola answered. "I borrowed it."

"Lola, I love you, you're my sister, but stop taking my shit."

"Language." Cristina warned.

"Sorry."

"Stop being vain, and keep reading." Lola ordered.

"Okay, so five things people didn't know about me. Let's see what they are."

_1)Gabriella Montez was born and raised in San Francisco, California to a lawyer father and doctor mother and is the 4th out of 4 children.__  
__2)Gabriella is an avid sports fan, football in particular. She enjoys going to San Francisco 49er games with her family.__  
__3)She went to NYU, graduated magna cum laude, and holds an MBA in business.__  
__4)She's a professional party planner, planning for celebrities like Bradley Cooper, Sandra Bullock, and Tina Fey.__  
__5)She is allergic to pineapple._

"Wait, how do they know that you're allergic to pineapple? Everything else seems pretty public, but the pineapple allergy? Are they going through your medical records?"

"Because these people have taken a great interest in my life."

"Who has taken a great in your life, princess?" Greg asked, walking into the kitchen with the rest of the guys.

"Where have you guys been?"

"Playing pool in the den. Your father is still the best in this house."

Cristina rolled her eyes, "Greg, no one is interested."

"That's mean."

Gabriella smiled at her parents' banter, "But to answer your question, we were talking about how I'm now a "celebrity" and people know everything about me."

"Who is everyone?"

"I mean exactly that. I'm all over the Internet and people know everything about me. Paparazzi are also showing up at my apartment."

Greg turned to Troy, "My daughter is getting stalked because of you and she's getting injured in your home. You're a danger."

Troy froze. Troy was a pretty laid-back guy and much didn't get to him, but Greg Montez scared him. Maybe it was the no nonsense lawyer in him that made him so intimidating, or the fact that he was Gabriella's father and she was his "princess". Either way, the man was terrifying.

Before Troy could even open his mouth, Gabriella turned to her father. "Daddy, be nice. I'm not being stalked. It's just overwhelming and I need to adjust."

"You want to move? We can find you a new apartment with better security."

"I'm fine. I promise. You raised a tough girl."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay."

Cristina glared at her husband, "Greg, let it go. She says she's fine."

Troy leaned in closer to Gabriella, "Your dad hates me."

"My dad is a teddy bear. He isn't capable of hate."

"He hates me."

"He doesn't."

Greg tapped Troy's shoulder, "Son, come over here. I want to talk to you."

"Okay."

Greg led Troy out of the kitchen and into the dining room. "Sit down." Troy sat. "Troy, I think you're a good guy. I think you're smart, and from what I have heard about you, you seem nice."

"Thank you."

"I don't like what I just heard in there. I don't like the fact that my 25 year old daughter has strange people camping outside of her apartment trying to get a picture of her. Or you."

"I don't like it either, but Gabriella says she can handle it. She's one tough cookie."

"That she is. I've been taking her to the gun range with me since she was 17. That girl is an excellent shot. And she has a taser and knows all the pressure points on the body. She could kill you it she wanted to. I knows she is a capable girl."

Troy nodded, "Very capable."

"Now I live in San Francisco. That place is a melting pot of people. It's so diverse. You know that, right?"

"Yes."

"And some of the types of people I deal with are people like myself. The business people. I see the party people. I see the tourists. But I've worked with the law and I've seen the other side. The drug addicts, the killers, the gang members, et cetera. Now I pride myself on being a lawyer who gives everyone a fair chance. And for that reason, I have a lot of connections. I got an assumed killer out of a very tricky bind and he said and I quote, "Greg, you are a cool guy. If you ever need me, I'll be there."."

"I feel uncomfortable."

Greg pointed to Gabriella, who was talking to her mother. "Now, that girl is a twin, but she was the latter of the two, so she is my baby, the apple of my eye. And it would be such a shame if you hurt her."

"Sir, with all due respect, I feel like you are threatening me"

Greg let out a loud chuckle and slapped Troy's shoulder harshly. "Of course not! I'm not an idiot. I would never threaten someone." His eyes darkened. "But you are a young, rich playboy. You are an athlete. I know what goes on. Girls throw themselves at you. And if you so much as think of stepping out of line, I know people who can do very unspeakable things to you. Illegal, brutal, cruel things. I'm sure no one would be able to find out where they disposed of your body. So I don't want my daughter to come to me with so much as a tear in her eye concerning you. Are you picking up what I'm putting down?"

Troy cleared his throat, trying to get the nervous lump out. This felt like a scene out of some old mob movie. "I've picked it up. I got the message."

Greg smiled and his entire demeanor changed. "Great!" He stood up. He slapped the back of Troy's shoulder as he walked back into the kitchen. "I'm glad we could talk, Troy."

Troy took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. "Me too, Mr. Montez."

* * *

**Happy Friday! Have a good weekend all! xD  
**


	7. Meet The Parents

Gabriella was having an extremely hectic work day. She had to run around town all day to get things and talk to people for the party she was planning. She hadn't had a moment to just sit and relax because as soon as she woke up, she was on the go. So when she got home and was able to relax for a moment, she wasn't expecting someone to show up at her house.

"I'm coming!" Gabriella said as she rushed to answer the door. She opened it and saw a woman standing in front of her. She was older than Gabriella, probably the same age as her mother, give or take a few years. She had reddish auburn hair and big blue eyes and a smile adorned her face. The woman looked very similar, but Gabriella couldn't figure out why.

"Hello. Are you Gabriella Montez?"

"That's me."

"Oh good, this apartment complex is so big, I though I had the wrong one."

"Miss, I am about to leave so-"

The woman stuck out her hand, "Hi. I'm Lucille, Troy's mother."

"Oh!" That's why she looked so familiar. "Hello Mrs. Bolton."

"Lucille. Call me Lucille."

"Lucille, if you are looking for Troy, he isn't here. I think he's at practice."

Lucille shook her head, "I'm not looking for Troy. I'm looking for you."

"Me?"

"Yes. I had to come see the young woman my son was so infatuated with."

Gabriella stepped aside so Lucille could walk into her apartment. She did. "You came all the way from Texas to see me?"

"Not just you. My husband and I wanted to see Troy, but he's busy, Yasmine is at school right now and I figured since I was in the neighborhood, you and I could get to know each other. Just a little girl time."

"Lucille, I was actually on my way out. I have to go to a bakery in Pasadena."

"I'll go with you!" Lucille offered, genuine enthusiasm in her voice.

"Really?"

"Yeah, my only plans for the day were to meet you."

"Great." Gabriella grabbed her purse and cell phone off of her coffee table. "Let's go."

* * *

After about two and a half hours of running around, Gabriella and Lucille were sitting in a restaurant in Beverly Hills. From what Gabriella was able to gather from her through their small talk, Lucille seemed like a really nice person, and that was a relief to Gabriella. Some of her exes had horrible mothers that she had to tolerate. But Lucille seemed easy going.

"So Gabriella," Lucille started, picking up her menu, "how exactly did you and my son meet?"

"We met at a club in Hollywood." Gabriella replied. "My friend just got a job and my and a few of my close friends went out. What's really funny about the situation is that, I didn't want to go out, and neither did Troy."

"Really?"

"Yeah. So anyway, I was getting drinks at the bar and when I get the drinks, the bartender tells me that they had already been paid for. Then he points to Troy. I thank Troy for the drinks, and he wanted to hang out with me more, but I rebuffed him. Then he tried again."

Lucille smiled, "That sounds like my son. Those Bolton men are so darn stubborn and persistent."

"His persistence goes further. I eventually have in to his offer and we hung out for a few hours. When it was time to go, he asked if we could see each other again. I declined. He asked for my number. I declined that as well."

"Boy, you made my son work for it, didn't you?" Lucille asked, her tone light and teasing.

"That's because I thought he was still in a relationship." Gabriella explained. "I didn't want to be tied to someone who was in a relationship. But he told me he was single, but it was an extremely recent breakup, and I didn't want to be his rebound or just some basketball player's fling. He assured he just wanted to get to know me, so I gave him my business card with my work info."

"A few days later, he showed up at my office and he asked me for my number." Gabriella continued. "I caved in and gave it to him. And here we are today."

"I like you. You're tough, you stick to your guns, you didn't give in to my son's charm. And he has a lot of it, trust me. And you weren't in awe of his celebrity, which most people, especially women, are."

Gabriella shrugged, "I mean it's impressive, but it's not important to me."

"We've talked enough about my son." Lucille said with a dismissive hand wave. "If he was here, his ego would be the size of this restaurant."

"I agree. And that's the last thing we need."

"So tell me about you."

"Okay. I'm 25 years old. I'm from San Francisco and I am technically the youngest of four kids."

"What do you mean by "technically"?"

"Well I'm a twin."

"Fraternal or identical?"

"Fraternal. My twin's a guy."

"Oh."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "And he's only a few minutes older than me and he treats me like I'm his baby sister. It's really annoying."

"Where'd you go to school?"

"I got my bachelor's degree in business at NYU and I went to UCLA Anderson School of Management."

"You're a smart girl!" Lucille exclaimed, a smile gracing her face. "I'm glad because a few of Troy's past girlfriends were kind of lacking up here." She tapped the side of her head for good measure.

"Where they?"

"Oh yeah. I don't know why the brainless seem to gravitate to him. My son is a smart boy, but his type is so awful. You are the first girlfriend he's had that I actually enjoy conversing with."

Gabriella breathed out excitedly. This was good. Lucille thought she was pretty, and smart and she actually enjoyed her presence.

"That's a relief."

Lucille folded her arms together on top of the table. "Darling, why don't we just cut to the chase."

"Alright." Gabriella grabbed her glass of water and took a sip.

"Do you love my son?"

Gabriella almost spit out the water she was drinking. Whoa, where did that come from? They were just having such light conversation.

Gabriella sighed and tried to think of a very diplomatic answer. She didn't want to say no, because you can't tell a mother that you don't love her son, and she couldn't say yes because she truthfully didn't know. And if she was, she definitely wasn't ready for that.

"I really care about your son." Gabriella replied. "He's an amazing guy. Since we're only a few months into our relationship, I just don't want to throw that word out there."

"Do you see yourself staying with him in the near future?"

"Absolutely."

"Distant future?"

"I can see myself with him five years from now, ten years from now."

"Do you want to have kids?"

"Yeah, but no time soon. Maybe when I'm 30 and I've done all the things I want to do."

Lucille nodded understandingly, "Let's say you and Troy get married, hypothetically, and you have kids and he's still playing basketball, what would you do?"

"I definitely wouldn't leave Los Angeles to go around the country with him. I'd want our hypothetical children to have stability and security."

Lucille stayed silent, digesting the answer Gabriella just gave her. Gabriella bit her lip nervously. Had Lucille been testing her? And if so, did she pass?

"Alright, I have no more questions for you. You have any for me?"

"Yeah." Gabriella leaned forward. Her eyes sparkled with a bit of mischief. "What was Troy like as a kid? I want know every embarrassing detail about him."

* * *

"Troy what are you doing here?" Gabriella asked, opening her door. Troy was standing on the other side of that door, wearing pajamas. "It's late."

Troy leaned down and gave Gabriella a kiss. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." Troy quickly entered Gabriella's apartment.

"The penthouse has become chaos. My parents are in town."

"I know."

"What do you mean, you know?"

"Your mom showed up here earlier. You didn't know?"

"I didn't have a clue. When I went to basketball practice, she and my dad were there, and when I got back, she was there."

"Huh. Then how did she get my address?"

"My mom is pretty crafty." Troy sighed and made his way to Gabriella's couch. "She probably went through my PDA or laptop and got it."

"Well anyway, she came here and she rode with me all the way to Pasadena, and then we went to lunch."

"Oh."

"She didn't say anything?"

Troy shook his head, "Nope. She has been cleaning, and cooking, and just over-all mothering me ever since she got out here last night. And on top of that, my sister is staying over so I have no peace."

Gabriella sat down and put her feet on her coffee table. Troy put his head in her lap. "My poor baby. Your place has been taken over."

"I should just tell the doorman to not let them on the private elevator anymore."

"Your family is smart. I think they could outwit the doorman and sneak up."

"That's true." Troy looked up at Gabriella, "So how was my day with my mom?"

"I really like your mom. She's funny and nice. And I think she likes me."

"My mom doesn't have a problem with tearing my or my sibling's significant others a new one. So unless you two got into a verbal smack down or she just said straight up, "Gabriella, I don't like you.", she likes you."

"There was no verbal smack down." Gabriella assured. "But I found out some interesting things about you."

"How interesting?"

"When you were in seventh grade, you had a crush on your babysitter. And one day, you snuck into her high school and read her a love poem over the PA system."

Troy blanched, "She told you that?"

"Oh yeah."

"I'm going to get her."

"She also told me that during your first date," Gabriella giggled, "you kissed the girl and your braces stuck to hers and your mom had to take you guys to the orthodontist to get them detached."

Troy had to laugh at that memory, "That was my first kiss, and it was hers too. We both had no idea what we were doing. That had to be the most horrifying thing to ever happen to me."

"More horrifying than when your older brother video taped you practicing pick up lines in your room?"

"Remind me to kill my brother for that the next time I see him."

"All of your most embarrassing moments somehow involved a girl."

Troy shrugged, "What can I say angel face, I had no game when I was 13." He pointed to himself. "This was a process. This charm and overall appeal doesn't just appear overnight."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, and you're lucky because you showed up at the peak of all of this."

"I feel special."

"You should baby. Because I am quite the catch."

Gabriella lifted Troy's head off of her lap and stood. "I have a busy day tomorrow and I'm going to go to bed. You can stay here and compliment yourself, Mr. Narcissist."

"You know what, I think I will." Troy gave Gabriella a quick kiss.

Gabriella tugged on Troy's hand, "Come on, Bolton."

"If you want me in your bed, angel face," Troy smirked, "all you have to do is say so."

"Sleep on the couch then. It's pretty comfortable."

"Okay, I get it. We're going to bed."

* * *

"I don't know why you're so upset with me." Lucille said. "She asked me what you were like as a kid, and I told her."

Troy groaned, "Mom you told her about the braces."

"It's a funny story, darling."

"Yeah, Troy." Yasmine agreed. "And I can't believe I forgot about it. Wait until my couple thousand Twitter followers find out about it."

"If anyone else finds out that me and Paige Montgomery had to go to the orthodontist to get our braces detached, I will do very bad things to you." Troy threatened.

"Like what?"

"I will tell my two million Twitter followers that my baby sister got food poisoning on her first date and threw up on the guy she was with."

"You wouldn't."

"I would, Yas. Because I'm your brother. And as your brother, it is my job to destroy everything good in your life."

"You suck." Yasmine spat out.

"You suck." Troy mimicked.

"Kids be nice." Lucille warned, pulling a tray out of asparagus out of the oven.

Yasmine said no more but glared at her brother. They sent each other a silent agreement to drop the social homicide threats.

The doorbell rang a few times. Yasmine quickly walked over and opened the door, revealing Gabriella. "Hi, Gabriella."

"Hi."

"Come on in."

"Thank you." Gabriella noticed Troy's mother in the kitchen. "Hi Lucille."

"Hello darling!"

Yasmine led Gabriella in, "You just missed the best story."

"What was it about?"

"About the time Marcus and I locked Troy outside of the house naked on Halloween."

Troy looked up and he looked like a deer caught in headlights. "We had a silent pact!"

Yasmine shrugged,"Yeah, not to get each other in public."

"And it's not funny. I almost got arrested for that."

"All of these stories are hilarious." Gabriella said, sitting next to Troy. "I'm so glad my siblings didn't get a chance to tell you anything bad about me."

"Oh don't worry. I'll get them next time."

"It won't take much. Slip a few glasses of wine, in there and they'll be all loosey goosey."

"I'll remember that. I think Lola will be my best bet. She already sent me that picture of you in your pajamas."

Gabriella frowned, "Don't remind me." She looked around the living room, searching for someone. "Hey, is your dad here?"

"He is on the terrace grilling steaks. He should be in here soon."

"Can't wait to meet him."

"Can't wait to meet whom?" A voice called. Gabriella turned around and saw a guy, who she could only assume was Troy's father, walk into the living room and straight to the kitchen.

"You, dad." Troy replied, turning around to focus on the older man. "Come here, I want you to meet someone."

"Just a second."

A few seconds later, Troy's dad was in front of Gabriella. He was tall, and had blue eyes just like Troy.

"Dad, this is my girlfriend, Gabriella. Gabriella, this is my dad, Jack."

"So you're the girl my son is so infatuated with." Jack said.

Gabriella stood and extended her hand. Jack grabbed it and gave it a firm shake. "Yes. Nice to meet you sir."

"Sir? Oh you're too polite. Jack will be just enough. And it's nice to finally meet you as well."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I just feel old when I'm called sir."

"You are getting old! You're in you mid fifties." Lucille called over her shoulder.

Jack put his hand over his chest and frowned, "Why must you wound me, woman?"

"I told you not to call me that."

"Sorry, love."

"That's better."

About fifteen minutes later, everyone was seated around Troy's table.

"So Gabriella," Jack started, "Troy told us you're an event planner."

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah."

"Do you specify in anything?"

"No. I can plan anything you need. Weddings, birthday parties, anniversary parties, work related stuff, et cetera."

"That sounds fun." Lucille said. "What made you want to do that?"

"Well, I have always loved planning parties. And I had a business degree, so I just put the two together, and here I am."

Yasmine rested her elbows on the table and put her chin in her hands. "Gabriella, what were you like as a teenager?"

"A mess." Gabriella answered, before she could fully realize what she was saying. That definitely wouldn't leave a good impression on Troy's parents.

Yasmine's eyes lit up. She was suddenly very intrigued with where the conversation was going. "Really?"

"I was the trouble child of the Montez siblings. I went to school, I got good grades, but I had a bit of a mischievous, wild side. I got it all out before I finished college, though."

"Gabriella, you and I are going out." Yasmine stated. It was a definite statement and it didn't leave Gabriella much room to argue. "I need to be properly introduced to your more fun side."

Gabriella shook her head, "It's retired."

"That sucks."

Troy turned to Gabriella, "I haven't met the wild child side either."

Gabriella shrugged, "I can't divulge everything about me. I got to keep you on your toes, mister."

Jack laughed, "Smart, pretty, successful. Son, I think you found yourself a keeper."

"Yeah." Troy winked Gabriella. "I think so too."

* * *

"This has become on of my favorite shows." Gabriella said, sitting a bowl of popcorn on the couch in between her and Troy. She had somehow convinced him to binge watch Orange Is The New Black with her. "You'll love it."

"If you say so. Give me the plot synopsis again."

"So the girl, Piper goes to prison for something she and her ex-girlfriend, Alex did ten years ago. And the first few episodes deal with Piper adjusting to prison, and her fiancé adjusting to it as well." Gabriella explained. "The plot gets thicker, but I can't spoil because that defeats the purpose of watching."

"You've already seen the entire season, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm willing to watch it again. For your sake." Gabriella grabbed the remote control and pressed play.

"Okay. So what did this Piper chick do to land in jail?"

"You'll find out."

"Or you could just tell me now."

"Stop being impatient." Gabriella scolded, slapping Troy's knee.

Troy sighed dramatically, "Fine."

Gabriella leaned in against Troy's chest and put her head on his arm.

"So, I think you are big hit with my family." Troy announced.

"Think so?"

"Oh yeah. My parents have taken to you, and Yasmine loves you. The only one you haven't met is my brother."

"Fingers crossed that I make a good first impression."

"You will. You're a female, so he'll love you too."

Gabriella chuckled, "Thank God I'm a female."

"But congrats Montez. Welcome to the family."

Lucille walked into the living room, a basket of laundry in her hands. She was about to say something to Troy when she saw him and Gabriella talking, but decided against it. She just turned the other way.

Lucille could see why Troy was so into this girl. Gabriella was different from his usual type. Better, in fact. She was smart, witty, successful, and could hold her own against her son. She hoped to see more of the young woman.

/

_TBC_


End file.
